


STUDIES IN IMMIGRATION 
FROM THE STANDPOINT of 
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH 





QassJ2bVjLl£5 
Book 7P7 



PRESENTED BY 



NEIGHBORS 



First Edition, March, 1919. 
Second Edition, April, 1920. 



NEIGHBORS 



STUDIES IN IMMIGRATION 
FROM THE STANDPOINT OF 
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH 



NEW YORK 

DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 

281 FOURTH AVENUE 

1920 






Gift 
Publisher 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

Preface 1 

I. Immigration and Christian Democ- 
racy 5 

W. C. Sturgis, Ph.D. 

II. Immigration and the Church 19 

The Rev. T. J. Lacey, PhD. 

III. From the Near East 40 

The Rev. T. J. Lacey, Ph.D. 

IV. Our Italian Neighbors 85 

Lilian M. Skinner 

V. From the Land of the Vikings 109 

The Rev. J. G. Hammarskold, D.D. 

VI. Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar. 132 
The Rev. T. J. Lacey, PhD. 

VII. A Nation Reborn 162 

The Rev. R. Keating Smith 

VIII. The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues. . 183 
The Rev. T. J. Lacey, PhD. 



Appendix 215 



PREFACE 

Interest in certain features of immigration is no 
new thing on the part of the Episcopal Church. Only 
recently, however, has the general subject presented 
itself as a problem, to the solution of which the Church 
must address herself speedily and in earnest. At the 
meeting of General Convention in St. Louis in 1916, 
on the initiative of the House of Bishops, acting upon 
a memorial from the Province of Washington, a reso- 
lution was adopted recommending to the Board of 
Missions that it establish a Department of Immigra- 
tion under a special Secretary, and that it obtain and 
publish information on the subject with the view of 
instituting systematic Christian work among the immi- 
grants, in cooperation with diocesan and parochial au- 
thorities. 

In pursuance of this resolution, the Board of Mis- 
sions at its meeting in May, 1919, voted to establish 
such a Department, and named as Secretary, the Rev. 
Thomas Burgess of Athol, Mass., who had previously 
served as Director of the "Committee on Various 
Races" of the Province of New England, an organiza- 
tion which has done much notable work on this sub- 
ject. By an interesting coincidence, it had already been 
decided by the Educational Department of the Board 



Neighbors 

of Missions to recommend to all mission-study classes 
in the year 1919-20, the topic of the Immigrant, as 
following logically the topic of Domestic Missions 
studied during 1918-19. 

The first task was to procure an adequate textbook, 
and it became at once apparent that, while the number 
of books dealing with the general topic is very great, 
there was not one which approached the subject from 
the standpoint of a religious Communion at once Cath- 
olic and non-Roman. Under these circumstances the 
Educational Department was fortunate enough to se- 
cure the cooperation of a number of experts in this 
field of missionary enterprise, and the present volume 
is the result. 

The book is not intended to be a compendium of in- 
formation regarding the various races which compose 
the mixed population of the United States, nor does 
it pretend to deal with every racial unit to be found 
in the stream of immigration. It is merely what it 
professes to be — a textbook for use primarily by mem- 
bers of the Episcopal Church, and it is therefore no 
more than a collection of studies of those racial groups 
which are ecclesiastically most closely akin to the 
Anglican Communion, or which, for other reasons, ap- 
peal peculiarly to the active sympathy of members of 
that Communion. 

It will be noted, possibly as a ground for criticism, 
that a large amount of space is given to the considera- 
tion of certain immigrant races among whom, by rea- 
son of their ancient Catholic heritage and affiliations, 
the Episcopal Church can have no technical missionary 
work, except on behalf of individual members who 



Preface 

may have lapsed altogether from the Faith. Toward 
such ecclesiastical groups the Episcopal Church has 
only a mission of sympathy and support ; but in order 
to fulfil this mission, some degree of mutual acquaint- 
ance is necessary. It is hoped, therefore, that the 
present volume, insofar as it treats of races which 
share the Catholic Faith and Order, may serve as a 
letter of introduction passing between near relatives 
hitherto insufficiently acquainted with one another. 
This is surely well worth while even though there be 
no possible ground for technical missionary work on 
either side. Such are the immigrants representing 
the Eastern Orthodox Church, between which and the 
Anglican, the bonds of sympathy are increasingly 
strong and lasting; the Italian immigrants who drift 
all too readily from their moorings within the Roman 
Church and yet find it difficult to cast anchor perma- 
nently among the Protestant Communions ; the Scandi- 
navians who are of our own reformed ecclesiastical 
lineage; and finally that ancient, though only recently 
recognized racial unit, the Czecho-Slovaks who, alike 
through their past religious history and their present 
dire need of an ordered, sacramental, religious faith, 
make a special and peculiar appeal to the Episcopal 
Church. It is these races upon which attention is 
focussed in the present volume of studies. 

Again it must be evident that no book dealing with 
social relations from a new point of view in times of 
unprecedented confusion and readjustment such as the 
present, can escape the charges of incompleteness and 
misstatement. The compilers must, therefore, on the 
one hand, beg the indulgence of those whose labors 



Neighbors 

appear to have been overlooked ; and, on the other, urge 
upon those who use the book the advisability of correct- 
ing the text in the light of the most recently current 
events. 

In conclusion the Editor desires to express his pro- 
found gratitude to those whose skillful and willing 
labor has made this volume possible. To the Rev. T. 
J. Lacey, Ph.D., of Brooklyn, whose expert knowl- 
edge of the people of the Near East is evident in the 
chapters dealing with those races; to Miss Lilian M. 
Skinner, of the Diocese of Rhode Island, special 
diocesan worker among Italians, who prepared the 
chapter dealing with that race; to the Rev. J. Gott- 
fried Hammarskold, D.D., of Yonkers, N. Y., inde- 
fatigable worker among his Swedish compatriots and 
writer of the chapter on the Scandinavians ; to the Rev. 
Robert Keating Smith, of Westfield, Mass., expert stu- 
dent of the Czecho-Slovaks and allied peoples; to the 
Rev. Thomas Burgess, whose wide acquaintance with 
the problem of immigration has made invaluable his 
constant advice and assistance, — to all of these the spe- 
cial thanks of the Church are due. In addition, the 
Editor would express his thanks to the very large num- 
ber of Church people — Bishops, priests, and laymen — 
who, through personal visits and correspondence, have 
given him much valuable information. In this con- 
nection, the Editor would especially mention members 
of the Italian Priests' Association. 



Note. A list of books suggested for collateral reading in 
connection with each chapter, will be found in the Appendix, 
Note A. 



CHAPTER I 

IMMIGRATION AND CHRISTIAN 
DEMOCRACY 

"No more strangers and foreigners, but fellow 
citizens . . . and of the household." 

THERE are certain fundamental ideas which 
should be kept in mind by any one who is 
desirous of studying the great problems which 
we group under the term Immigration, and of helping 
the Church and the State to solve them. 

The people of the United States are thrown together 
into that form of political and social organization 
The ideal of which we call a Democracy — a form of 
Democracy government in which, ideally, all the 

people share all the time, and must do so, either 
directly or by their elected representatives. It is evi- 
dent, however, that no such ideal democracy has ever 
yet been realized. There exist, in every society, im- 
perfectly developed individuals whom society, with 
reason, debars from having a voice in the government. 
Others there are, unfortunately, who, though qualified 
to discharge this responsibility, see fit to disregard it, 
to shift the burden to the shoulders of those less fitted 
to assume it — often a minority of society. Just in so 
far as the more fit leave to the less fit the task of 
government, will democracy be a failure. 

5 



Neighbors 

This, then, is our first point. In order even to 

approximate our ideal democracy, every individual 

must be made as fit as possible to have 

The Individual ... . 

Made Fit. a voice m the government; otherwise 

there can be no united action toward the 
highest ideals* 

We spoke above of the people of the United States 
as being "thrown together." The expression was used 
advisedly. Individualism and sectionalism, divided 
interests, social distinctions, religious sectarianism, 
racial differences, discordant conceptions of freedom, 
diverse ideals — all these have been divisive factors in 
our national life, and they remain so today. But none 
of them are features of an ideal democracy. In order 
to attain that ideal, everything which tends to divide 
men into opposing camps must be eliminated. 

But how is this end to be attained? There can be 
but one answer — Education. The Bishop of Oxford 

Education as ^as Sa ^ ^at atl e( hlCated man 1S " one 

a Factor whose intellect is trained to co-operate in 

the purpose of human progress." This surely implies 
united action toward an ideal aim. Unless education 
results in the development of high ideals, and spurs 
men to united and determined effort to realize those 
ideals for the sake of the community, education is a 
failure. This is our second point. 

"United action" — "High ideals." Let us consider 
those phrases for a moment. Possibly the greatest 
unifying factor in the development of democracy in 
the United States has been the public school system. 
The people of the United States are scattered over a 



♦See Appendix, Note B. 




A GIFT TO AMERICA 



m : m^: 




OF AN OLDER WORLD 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

vast area; concerted thought and action are difficult 
to secure ; but, in a very remarkable degree, the Ameri- 
can school system has succeeded in unifying thought 
and influencing conduct. War has unquestionably had 
a similar result. The Civil War produced at least 
sectional unity; the recent war evoked national unity. 
But on the whole it is primarily to universal education 
that we must look for any widespread and abiding 
unity. To the public school, more than to any other 
single agency, we owe the assimilating and unifying 
power of America as exerted upon immigrant peoples. 
It is incumbent on us, therefore, to see that the Immi- 
grant is brought, in every helpful way, into the closest 
and most sympathetic relation with the public school, 
not only as a matter of obligation imposed but of a 
privilege conferred. In many places the school build- 
ing can be made to serve as a community centre where 
American and foreigner can meet together, and learn 
to know one another better to the promotion of greater 
unity of purpose. Ways in which such a plan could 
be made helpful and effective will readily suggest 
themselves. 

But, after all, unity, merely as such, is of no great 
value. Everything depends on the question of why 
unity and unity is desired — what it is proposed to 

idealism accomplish by means of it. An Amal- 

gamated Association of Anarchists or a Bounden 
Brotherhood of Burglars might be models of unity, 
but a well-ordered society would inevitably frown 
upon their efforts to make their unity effective. Evi- 
dently unity must be sought for, if at all, in order that 
some worthy aim may be attained — an aim of value to 



Neighbors 

the community. It is just at this point that the 
American system of public education reaches its limi- 
tations. It does succeed in producing a certain degree 
of national unity and loyalty, but this is not a unity 
based upon Christian faith and practice. It does stand 
for certain ideals in national life, but, from the Chris- 
tian standpoint, these are not the highest ideals. The 
Assistant Attorney General of the United States voiced 
a fundamental truth when he said recently, "Govern- 
ment becomes more nearly perfect as it approaches 
Christianity," and the now famous phrase that the 
Church's function in the world today is "to make 
Democracy safe for the world," is but a striking state- 
ment of the fact that only as Democracy becomes per- 
meated with and directed by the principles of the 
Gospel of Christ is it safe for the world's acceptance. 
We may go farther and say that since Democracy is 
based upon the responsibility of every member of 
society in good standing, to share in the government, 
no Democracy is ideal or safe until the life and action 
of every citizen is guided by and founded upon Chris- 
tian faith and practice. For Christian faith and prac- 
tice include more than the mere setting forth of ideals ; 
they make possible their realization. The Church of 
Christ is not only an instrument of education, it also 
makes accessible to men the God-given help they need 
— the supernatural power, the sacramental life, without 
which they cannot fulfil their ideals. 

It follows that, in an ideal Democracy, religious and 
secular education must progress with equal steps — 
Education and Church and State must cooperate in pro- 
Reiigion ducing a Christian citizenship. This has 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

a very direct bearing on what has thus far been said. 
If an individual has made himself unfit to have a voice 
in the government of his country, it is evidently the 
task of Church and State acting together to restore 
him, by means of training and education, until he sees, 
and desires to follow, this ideal. In like manner the 
Church and the State must see to it that the citizen 
indifferent to the claims of citizenship, is brought to a 
realization that the responsibility which the State 
offers him, it is his duty, both as a Christian and as a 
citizen, to accept. 

Neither the Church alone nor the State alone can 
produce the ideal citizen or, consequently, the ideal 
Democracy. The action of both, as distinct forces, 
yet cooperating as one, is necessary. This is the fourth 
fundamental idea constantly to be borne in mind. 

Once these general principles are accepted, we begin 
to see how vital is the relation between the American 
Meaning of citizen and the Immigrant. Time was 
"American" when the word "American" could be 
defined with a fair degree of accuracy in terms of 
racial affiliation. In the early days of the Republic, 
the nation was practically of one and the same stock. 
The Dutch colony of Manhattan Island represented, it 
is true, a diverse element, but it did not long remain as 
a separate entity, being soon absorbed in the larger 
mass of Anglo-Saxon life. The youthful nation was 
a bit of England transplanted to a distant land, and 
English it remained in its conception of the meaning 
of law, of freedom, of democracy; even its religious 
affiliations, notwithstanding Puritanism, were largely 
with the mother-Church of England. 



Neighbors 

It was an Anglo-Saxon race which, with stern dog- 
gedness, gained and held a precarious foothold on the 
rocky coast of New England and on the banks of the 
James River; it was Anglo-Saxon unrest and energy 
which drove the settlers ever westward to gain new 
territory for themselves; and when the new nation 
faced the task of denning its independent national life, 
it was in terms long familiar to the Anglo-Saxon mind 
that it defined them. 

For a century or more the American people were 
left to develop their national life and ideals with but 
Racial slight help or interference from the out- 

Assimiiation s j(j e> Then, slowly at first, but in ever 
increasing volume, the tide of immigration swept in, 
until today America has become the centre of assimila- 
tion for the races of the world. That she has, up to 
the present time at least, been able to meet the situa- 
tion, to absorb into her national life the inconceivably 
diverse elements of immigration, to assimilate them 
in any wholesome manner and without any very dis- 
tressing symptoms of national ill-health, is the miracle 
of modern social history. Nevertheless it is a fact that 
these elements remain diverse, and that the word 
American can less and less be defined in terms of one, 
or of even a dozen, racial units. The whole world, 
civilized and uncivilized, white, black, red, and yellow, 
is contributing to the making of the. twentieth century 
American. 

It is important, therefore, to consider rather care- 
fully what we would like the result to be. It has long 
"Americaniza- keen ^e f asm on to speak of this country, 
tion " in its relation to immigrant peoples, as a 

10 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

"melting pot," into which are poured various mate- 
rials which can and should be completely fused and 
altered, losing all of their distinctive qualities, in order 
to be recast, as a new substance, in some definite and 
prescribed mould. Obviously, however, there is no 
such mould, nor can individual or racial personality 
be so treated without loss. Whatever be that com- 
posite personality which passes or shall pass for the 
"twentieth century American," he will be incomplete 
unless the Italian has contributed something essential 
to his make-up, the Swede something else, and so on 
through the whole list. Nothing could be more fatal 
than for us to imagine that there exists a perfect type 
known as "the American citizen"; that it is superior 
to all other national types ; and that only as the latter 
are conformed to that imaginary type will they become 
of value to this nation. This, of course, is the purely 
German conception of patriotism, and apparently is 
back of much of our thinking in connection with that 
greatly overworked and ill-defined word "Americani- 
zation." To many of us the word means the attempt 
to squeeze material which can not be moulded into a 
mould which does not exist. After all it is a process 
which should be our chief concern, rather than a 
result. It is more important for us to learn to recog- 
nize at sight the racial traditions, ideals and aspirations 
of an Immigrant, and to help him in the process of 
retaining and developing those which are the most 
worthy of preservation, than it is to stand aloof from 
him, holding up the figure of an imaginary American 
citizen and calling upon him to lay aside his own in- 
herent qualities of personality and, in the interests of 

11 



Neighbors 

"Americanzation," to conform forthwith to the stand- 
ard. The "melting pot" idea, with its suggestion of 
uniformity and a standard common mould, is a danger- 
ous starting point. We shall reach wiser conclusions 
if we think of America less as a "melting pot" and 
more as an assimilating organ receiving living mate- 
rials, and by a selective process, building them up into 
a living body.* An image of this kind will tend to 
make us very careful of the processes which we see 
going on about us, and less concerned perhaps with 
the result. How best can we assist the divine Archi- 
tect in selecting, testing and fashioning His materials, 
that from them may be built a fair home for all His 
people, a temple fit for His in-dwelling? This is the 
most momentous question which faces every American 
citizen. Upon the answer, given in terms of personal 
responsibility, depends our very existence as a nation. 
But this is not all. The case might be different if 
we were willing to admit this vast stream of immi- 

Naturalization S rantS ' and P emiit them t0 share 0Ur 

—a Process national life without sharing American 
citizenship, or if they themselves were desirous of this. 
But even this is obviously impossible. Were such a 
policy adopted it would inevitably result in establish- 
ing, in our very midst, groups of races, extraneous to 
our national life, differing from us and diverse one 
from the other, in tradition, ideals, religion and lan- 
guage. Such a situation would be intolerable. National 
unity would forever become impossible. Fortunately, 
however, the desire of an ever-increasing number of 



*See, Horace J. Bridges, On Becoming an American, 
Chapter VIII. 

13 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

immigrants is to unite themselves with us as soon as 
possible by becoming naturalized. Under these cir- 
cumstances there is only one course open to us — to 
bend every energy, to exhaust every resource, whereby 
the alien, from the moment of his landing at the port 
of entry, may be brought under the influence of 
American customs and ideals, to the end that by the 
time he is technically prepared for citizenship, he may 
be fit to assume the proper responsibilities of true 
citizenship. 

This, of course, is the final and desirable result; 
but the process is not so easily defined. This stranger 
Factors in f rom another land brings with him more 

the Process than he carries in his bundle. As has 
already been said, he brings racial characteristics, his- 
torical traditions, national customs, aspirations and 
ideals. These must be permitted expression, if only 
that the possessor himself may come to learn just 
what of these spiritual possessions may well be en- 
couraged to survive for the sake of the land to which 
he is come, and what may better be abandoned. Espe- 
cially is this true of his most cherished possession — 
his native language. It is certainly debatable how far 
and how rapidly the Immigrant should be led to dis- 
card his accustomed speech. That he should be 
forced to, is surely intolerable. The ultimate aim for 
the Immigrant is undoubtedly unity with the nation, 
not only in external obedience to law, but in speech, 
dress, habits of thought, aspirations and aims ; but the 
most loving care must be exercised lest in the process 
of attaining this aim, much of infinite value to him 
and to us be crushed and irretrievably lost. 

13 



Neighbors 

To know the Immigrant as he is, to understand his 
ideals and aspirations, to learn something of his re- 
ligious affiliations, to familiarize our- 

The Result 

selves with the land whence he came — its 
history, its social and political structure; nay, more, 
even its physical features and its climate — and all this 
in order to meet him with full sympathy and to help 
him, most efficiently and speedily, to adapt himself to 
new conditions and to find his proper place in the 
structure of American life — this is our task. Upon 
its successful accomplishment depends the question 
whether the Immigrant is to remain an alien — a menace 
to the ideals and the unity of American life; or as 
God Almighty intended him to be, a factor in the 
upward development of our nation, and of human 
progress. 

This outgoing attitude of mind, however, is not in 
itself sufficient. So long as the Immigrant is present 
in our minds merely as a "Chink," a 
and Human "Dago," or a "Wop," there can be abso- 
lutely no useful approach. It must be 
remembered that the overwhelming majority of immi- 
grants come to us from lands where the oldest civili- 
zations of the world have blossomed and borne fruit. 
Italy, Greece, — what visions of unrivalled art, what 
stories of heroic deeds, the very names recall! How- 
ever receded from their once glorious estate, the 
glamour of their past clings to them still ; their people 
— heirs of incomparable ages, are still proudly aware 
of that past. Not yet has America produced a Homer, a 
Dante, a Phidias, a Beethoven, or a St. Francis. It 
may be that in the fact of the presence among us of 

14 




AMERICANS OF THE FUTURE 




AN IMMIGRANT MOTHER AND HER AMERICAN CHILDREN 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

the descendants of such masters, lies a wondrous pos- 
sibility. Who can tell? But of one thing at least we 
may be well assured; such a possibility will be irre- 
trievably lost if we persist in regarding the Immigrant 
as an inferior being, treating him as such, and thus 
crushing out the divine spark. In rich association 
with the past, in inherent love of beauty, in apprecia- 
tion of spiritual values, the Immigrant brings with 
him qualities which, if permitted expression, will 
dignify and enrich the life of America. Not in a 
spirit of condescension, not even in a desire to give 
merely, lies the hope of our contact with the immigrant 
races ; but rather in a receptive spirit such as will draw 
out the best in their inherited virtues and allow it free 
opportunity for development. Only so can America 
confer a boon and receive a blessing in return. 

One further point is worthy of consideration. Is 
this endeavor to bring about a greater degree of unity 
and cooperation in the pursuit of the highest ideals 
of an ordered Christian democracy, the function of 
the State alone, or of the Church alone, or of both 
working together? Or is there still another alterna- 
tive, based on personal responsibility, and involving a 
certain degree of initiative on the part of the indi- 
vidual citizen? 

Personal responsibility, — think what that implies ! 
The average man, whether as a citizen or as a Church- 
Personai man, is altogether too prone to think of 

ResponsibUitr State and Church as the only instru- 
mentalities by which political, social or religious ideas 
can be brought to practical fulfilment. We look upon 
"the Government" or "the Church" as institutions in 

15 



Neighbors 

some way apart from ourselves, and we are inclined 
to blame them for conditions about us, when in reality 
it is we, ourselves, as individual citizens or Church- 
men, who are to blame, because we have largely 
ignored personal responsibility or have shifted it to 
the shoulders of institutions. A little thought will 
convince us that while the State is everywhere widen- 
ing its field of activity, yet the State is founded on 
individual responsibility and personal initiative. From 
the earliest pioneer days in America, personal concern 
in affairs affecting the welfare of the community has 
been more or less characteristic of American social 
life. Indeed, the conditions under which the early 
settlers lived, precluded any other way of getting 
things done. As the number of settlers increased and 
they became drawn together into ordered communities, 
individual initiative gradually developed into organized 
and corporate action. Even after the establishment of 
a settled representative government, many enterprises 
continued to owe their origin to the action of individual 
citizens, and were developed by concerted action on 
the part of individuals, on the perfectly proper assump- 
tion that, in a Democracy, it is one of the fundamental 
rights of a citizen, or of a group of citizens, to initiate 
any action which he or they may deem best for the 
community, without waiting for action by the Gov- 
ernment. 

To this individual action, so developed, we owe 
many an institution which the State has later taken 
individual over anc * ma de a governmental function. 

initiative Thus, for example, schools were at first 

private institutions; and many other activities, such 

16 



Immigration and Christian Democracy 

as the care of the poor, the afflicted or the oppressed, 
while originally the fruit of private charity, have come 
to be properly regarded as governmental. 

This individual action, however, is still our birth- 
right. We need not rely solely upon the State for 
action, and grow discontented at the State's inaction 
to right wrongs. We can still help ourselves and help 
our fellowmen to help themselves. The Church as a 
corporate body, and Churchmen as individual Christian 
citizens, have wide fields of corporate and individual 
activity, and a large responsibility. Noblesse oblige. 
We are trustees to change the point of view of those 
who think in terms of "rights" so as to get them to 
think in terms of duty and service. When, therefore, 
we think of an ideal democracy we should think, not 
only of a form of government and of governmental 
activity, but of the social activities and organizations 
in and with which individuals may freely act to 
supplement action by the State in the purpose of 
human progress. It is not safe or wise, when we see 
what needs to be done, to remain quiescent and await 
action by the Church or the State. It is alike our 
inalienable right and our bounden duty, as individuals, 
either to take the initiative in action, or else to dis- 
cover what course of action has already been initiated 
by others, and then to offer our fullest personal 
cooperation. 

The case of the Immigrant is one which has always 
been prominently before us as citizens in our corporate 
capacity. The question is whether the time has come 
when, for the safety of the Republic and for the 
well-being of the Church, we must force this matter 

17 



Neighbors 

upon our minds and hearts and wills in our capacity 
as individuals, to the end that, through intelligent and 
sympathetic personal approach, the Immigrant may be 
led to a fuller and more immediate perception of the 
best in American ideals, and to united action, with us, 
toward the realization of those ideals, and this in a 
measure never yet attained by the State or the Church. 
Intelligent and sympathetic personal approach calls 
for all that is in us. We must take the utmost pains 
to understand intelligently, for it is a 
very varied and unfamiliar human prob- 
lem with which we have to deal. We must strive to 
put ourselves in the Immigrants* place, to feel for 
them sympathetically. Sympathy, compassion, fellow- 
ship, these are at the basis of the ethics of the New 
Testament. Disregarding accustomed barriers, we 
must go out of our way to approach them as friends 
and neighbors, realizing that our plain American and 
Christian duty is hospitality. Understanding, sym- 
pathy, hospitality, such are the keys to the fulfilment 
of our personal responsibility toward these our neigh- 
bors. 



13 



CHAPTER II. 

IMMIGRATION AND THE CHURCH 

Early Migration and Immigration 

EMIGRATION and Immigration— the ebb and 
flow of human life — are as old as man. Every 
great movement found a starting-point in 
migrations of peoples. Greek traditions point to the 
influence of foreigners upon Hellenic life, in Cecrops, 
Danaus, Pelops, and Cadmus who introduced the 
alphabet from Phoenicia. 

Virgil's epic sings of an Immigrant. In the fanciful 
conception of the writer, Aeneas comes as an immi- 
grant from Troy to lay the foundation of 

Migration fe J / 

a new commonwealth. The story em- 
bodies the principle that civilization is diffused as 
men break away from ancestral environment, and, at 
personal sacrifice, carry existing achievements into 
remote places where, in turn, new and advanced forms 
are called into life by the changes incident to trans- 
planting. 

The early Bible stories may be studied as tales of 
emigrant experience. Abraham was an emigrant. The 
traditional significance of the word "Hebrew" is, "One 

19 



Neighbors 

from beyond." The Hebrews were people who migrated 
from beyond the river Euphrates. The adventures of 
Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldees, and of Jacob 
entering Egypt, are as human, modern and concrete 
as Professor Steiner's fascinating pictures of the 
immigrant tide on America's shores. 

The fifth century in Europe was marked by continu- 
ous restless movements of Germanic hordes who were 
unconquered by the Romans. Mongol Huns swept 
down upon the Goths and forced them across the 
Danube. Goths, Vandals and Franks immigrated into 
the Roman Empire and gave birth to the States of 
mediaeval Europe. 

The discovery of America gave fresh stimulus to 

the spirit of adventure and opened a wide field for 

immigration. From the very beginning 

Early Immigra- .... 

tionto America has been a centre of race con- 

tact. We are all descendants of immi- 
grants. Our burning problems have risen out of the 
relations of the white man to the Indian, the Negro, 
the Chinaman and the Japanese respectively. The 
early discovery and settlement reflect the influence of 
many nationalities, — English, Spanish, French, Swed- 
ish, Dutch. Columbus, an Italian, was backed by the 
resources of Spain. John Cabot, a Venetian, sailed 
under the commission of an English king. The Flor- 
entine, Americus Vespuccius, gave his name to the new 
continent. 

Traces of the early struggle for mastery between 
racial groups linger in the geographical names. Along 
the Florida coast and in the far Southwest the Spanish 
has left reminiscence of a power that waned. The old 




*i»tejto.™„i_: 

AN IMMIGRANT CONGREGATION AND THEIR CHURCH 



Immigration and the Church 

city gate at St. Augustine, Fla., the ancient church at 
Santa Fe, N. M., — these stand today as links with the 
early Spanish era. In California, a chain of old Mis- 
sions — weird, picturesque ruins — stretches from the 
Mexican border to Monterey, bearing eloquent testi- 
mony to the noble motives of the old padres. They 
represent the better aspect of the Spanish regime in 
contrast to the adventurers lured on by the quest of 
gold — the motive which spelled the doom of Spanish 
colonization. 

The French entered the new continent through the 
gateway of the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. 
Slowly and patiently they made their way into the 
Mississippi Valley where the intrepid La Salle raised 
the banner of France and claimed the territory in the 
name of Louis XIV. A reminiscence of French occu- 
pation lingers on in the names Champlain, Detroit, La 
Salle, Joliet, Marquette, Frontenac, Louisiana, etc. 
Frequently these names have undergone surprising 
transformations, wrought by succeeding adventurers. 
Thus a small river in Colorado, named by the Spanish 
Las Animas Perdidas, became, by a natural transi- 
tion, La Purgatoire when the French followed the trail 
of the Spaniard. When in turn came the American 
"cow-puncher," with a better ear for phonetics than 
for French, he promptly dubbed it The Picket-wire, 
which name it now retains. 

Each successive era in American history registers 
contacts of nations. The achievement of independ- 
ence itself witnessed the cooperation of Steuben, the 
German; Lafayette and St. Simon, Frenchmen; 
Pulaski and Kosciusko, sons of Poland. 

21 



Neighbors 

One can trace the traditions of the early settlers 
in different communities. The habits of the pioneers 

Persistent ** ve on * n * oca * customs - This has con- 

Raciai Traits tributed to the distinct personality of 
many of our cities which is instinctively felt by visi- 
tors. The sturdy, hardy, thrifty Teuton has left his 
impress on Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and other centres 
of the mid-West. You see it in the love of music 
and gymnastics, the beer-drinking, the flowers and 
window-gardens. Minneapolis and the North-West, 
peopled largely by Scandinavians, reflect the energy 
and enterprise of the old vikings. New Orleans has 
a personality of its own, of which the French quarter 
and the annual Mardi Gras festival are characteristic 
features, reflecting the gaiety of Latin Europe. Let 
the reader pause a moment and trace the survival of 
early racial influences in his own community in his- 
torical monuments, customs, names of places, streets, 
towns and cities. 

William Penn's liberal attitude attracted to Penn- 
sylvania many curious religious sects who were op- 
pressed in their home lands. In Germantown, and in 
a few other scattered localities in the United States, 
are colonies of Mennonites, of Dutch origin, charac- 
terized by so great a simplicity of life, that the use of 
the familiar suspenders, and of any form of buckle on 
their clothing, is strictly forbidden. 

Much better known, chiefly through their Easter 
observances and the famous Bach festival, are the 
Moravians of Bethlehem, originally of Bohemian, later 
of German extraction, members of a Communion once 
recognized by the British Parliament as "an ancient 

22 



Immigration and the Church 

Protestant Episcopal Church," and known the world 
over for its zeal and success in foreign missions — the 
first non-Roman Communion to declare that the evan- 
gelization of the heathen was the duty of the Church 
as such. 

Thus, even in early days, European races did, to a 
certain extent, enter into and have an influence upon 
the developing life of America ; and, as we have seen, 
traces of that influence still remain. But he would 
have been a bold man who, in those early days, would 
have ventured to predict what America was destined 
to become — the great centre of assimilation of the 
whole world, gathering into herself all races, endeav- 
oring to unite all in one homogeneous whole. 

What motives lie back of immigration? What are 
the causes of movements of peoples? Bryce groups 

The why of them under ( a ) War > ( b ) Oppression ; 
Migration ( c ) Growth of population ; (d) Labor 

market. Primitive man left his home under the 
pressure of the necessity of enlarged food supply. 
This economic motive still stands at the forefront. 
The Immigrant comes primarily to better his material 
condition. America stands for opportunity. Grose 
tersely sums up the situation when he says, "America 
means two things — money and liberty — the two things 
which the European lacks and wants." 

A variety of motives have been operative in the 
past and, in certain cases, are still influential, such as 
the desire to obtain religious liberty, to secure political 
freedom, to avoid enforced military service, to escape 
heavy taxation and government exaction. Historical 
illustrations come into mind. The New England colo- 

23 



Neighbors 

nists sought freedom for their religious views. They 
emigrated to escape persecution. The same is true 
today of Jews and Armenians. The Germans who 
came here in 1848 were liberals driven from home by 
the intolerable political conditions of the fatherland. 
America has felt the quiver of every movement that 
has shaken European life. The failure of the Polish 
insurrection in 1833 sent Polish settlers. The potato 
famine in Ireland in 1845 caused an influx of Irish. 
The political upheavals of 1848 all over Europe and 
especially in Germany were registered in immigrant 
arrivals. The Hungarian revolutionary outbreak in 
1849 caused accessions to the stream of refugees seek- 
ing on American soil that freedom denied in the home- 
land. Every European war has added numbers to our 
foreign born. 

The New Immigration 

Since immigration is such an ancient phenomenon 
and has played such an important part in American 
immigration life from the beginning, we naturally ask 
—1820-1880 w hy the subject has taken on such wide- 

spread interest in recent years. It is a burning ques- 
tion in halls of legislation ; it challenges the interest of 
Church conventions; it engages the attention of the 
sociologist; it is an ever recurring topic in the news- 
paper and magazine. What has brought it into such 
prominence today? The answer is found in the 
changed character of the immigrant tide. 

Streams of immigrants have been pouring into this 
country from the very beginning, but they were com- 
paratively small and their coming was scarcely noticed. 

24 




w 

u 

Q 

> 

o 

o 

H 

w 

o 

u 

w 

in 

e 
w 



Immigration and the Church 

We witnessed successive waves of English, Irish, 
Welsh, Scotch, German, French and Scandinavian im- 
migration. These were easily assimilated and fell 
naturally into the conditions of American life. Prior 
to 1820 the government was so little concerned about 
immigration that no statistics were kept. In 1844 
there was some hostility towards the Irish on religious 
grounds which gave rise to anti-Roman riots in Phila- 
delphia and Boston. There was some prejudice 
against the Germans on account of their clannishness. 
But these northern immigrants, of stock closely akin 
to ourselves and allied to us by generations of inter- 
course, commercial association, and intermarriage, 
blended readily in the new land. 

Since 1880, however, a change has passed over the 
population. New factors have appeared in the immi- 
grant stream. During the past thirty 
migration— years our immigration has been increas- 

1880-1914 

ingly recruited from southern and south- 
eastern Europe — Slavic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syrian. 
These have less historic contact with us ; they have 
less kinship with our religious, social and political 
ideals ; their languages are strange and difficult to our 
ears. Again, it is an immigration of individuals rather 
than families ; the intention of permanent residence is 
less marked than in earlier periods ; many come and 
go periodically like birds of passage, to whom imme- 
diate economic opportunity is the sole motive. 

Warne calls the coming of the Slav one of the most 
remarkable race migrations in history. Prior to 1880 
the anthracite coal region was a homogeneous com- 
munity; today the complexion has entirely changed. 

25 



Neighbors 

In 1880 hard-coal mining was in the hands of Eng- 
lish, Welsh, Scotch and Germans; today it is in the 
hands of Hungarians, Slovaks, Ruthenians and Poles. 
St. Patrick's Day is no longer the great festival of the 
year in this district. The once flourishing Welsh 
churches have declined. The outlook of the com- 
munity is transformed. Similar changes are felt in 
the whole industrial field. Our New York tailors are 
largely of Russian and Polish birth. Our day laborers 
are Italians. Our fruit venders are Greeks. In sturdy 
New England more than fifty per cent of the inhabi- 
tants are of foreign parentage. In the Connecticut 
valley the farms have passed largely into Polish hands. 
There is scarcely a section of the land that does notj 
register foreign settlement. Bulgars have gathered in 
Madison, Venice, and Granite City, 111. The annual 
report of the public library at Calumet, Mich., shows 
a circulation of books in Finnish, Italian, Croatian, 
French, German, Swedish, Slovenian, Polish, and 
Norwegian. When the present writer was visiting 
Cedar Rapids, la., recently, he noticed a section of the 
library reserved for Bohemian literature, a witness to 
the persistence of the Czech element in the population., 
Whiting, Ind., on Lake Michigan, an oil refining 
centre with 7,000 inhabitants, contains Bohemians, 
Croatians, Finns, French, Germans, Italians, Lithuan- 
ians, Magyars, Poles, Ruthenians, Slovaks, Slovenes 
and Swedes. This entrance of new racial elements is 
what we mean when we speak of the "new" immi- 
gration. 

It was brought about by several factors — increased 
facilities of transportation; cheap rates of passage; 

26 



Immigration and the Church 

inducements to travel on the part of the 

Causes of the , , , . , . . . . . 

New immigra- Mediterranian steamship companies; the 
expansion of American industry which 
created demand for labor and failed to attract suffi- 
cient numbers from northern Europe; the success of 
early immigrants whose letters and visits fired the im- 
agination of those at home and gave an impetus to 
ever increasing numbers to seek a fortune in the new 
land. In 1850 there were in the United States 1,414 
Russians ; 3,645 Italians ; 946 persons of Austrian 
birth; and 86 Greeks. In 1910 these figures had in- 
creased to 1,732,000 Russians; 1,343,000 Italians; 
1,175,000 persons of Austrian birth; and 101,282 
Greeks. 

The changed immigration has made itself felt in a 
very concrete way in our own households. Every 

housekeeper discovers a difficulty in 
Its Results , . _, . : . 

securing domestic servants. This is, in 

a measure, a result of the new immigration. House- 
hold servants were readily recruited from English, 
Irish, Germans and Scandinavians ; but these nations 
have ceased to contribute to our population in large 
numbers, and the arriving Slavs, Greeks, Italians and 
Hebrews do not enter domestic service in any large 
proportion. 

But the new immigration has opened questions of 
far greater import than this — questions that are bound 
up with the very life and stability of the State. We 
are confronted with the exploitation of the Immigrant 
by his own people in the "padrone" system, the white 
slave trade, and dishonest immigrant banking. The 
conflict between the "American" and the "immigrant" 

27 



Neighbors 

standards of living bears directly on the industrial 
conditions and the labor problem. As early as 1841 
objection was raised that immigrants worked for less 
wages than natives, and lived on a lower scale. The 
diversity of racial and linguistic elements in the popu- 
lation creates delicate municipal problems. Law en- 
forcement becomes increasingly difficult. Our strict 
federal supervision bars out the physically unfit and 
undesirable; but statistics show a large percentage of 
insanity among the foreign born, resulting no doubt 
from the severe strain of adjustment to new conditions 
— especially as this adjustment involves in most cases 
a change from the rural peasant life of Europe to the 
congested environment of the American city. The 
increase of tuberculosis in our large cities of late years 
may have its root in this situation. The adult for- 
eign born do not furnish a large percentage of crim- 
inals because they come here with characters fixed,! 
and bring with them a strong hereditary tendency to 
keep in bounds. But the native-born child of foreign 
parents offers a difficult and delicate problem. Among 
these, delinquency reaches very high proportions. 
This class represents a transition period. They have 
imbibed the new wine of liberty ; they speak English ; 
interpret for their elders ; acquire a sense of superior- 
ity; get away from home authority; regard their 
parents as old fogies ; ridicule their simple, sound mor- 
ality; drift from religious moorings. 



Immigration and the Church 

The Church and the Immigrant* 

Having sketched the history of immigration, and its 
motives, studied the sources, character, and fluctua- 
nt church's tions of the immigrant stream, and 
opportunity pointed out some of the problems it has 
raised — we ask what is the relation of the Church to 
the present situation ? 

The first contribution the Church can make is to 
inspire in her people a personal attitude of warm sym- 
sympathyand P ath y and helpfulness toward the immi- 
Surveys grant. We must labor to break down 

prejudice and to appreciate these people whose labor 
we accept so freely in the hard, dangerous, toilsome 
spheres of industrial life. The immigrant laborer is, 
like ourselves, the object of Christ's redemptive love. 
We ought to impress this upon children in our schools, 
instead of permitting and even encouraging the use of 
terms of derision and scorn as applied to the foreign- 
born. A reverence for humanity, for the poor, the 
weak, the oppressed, the down-trodden — is of the 
very essence of the religion of Jesus. An obligation 
rests upon us as Christians to show ourselves true 
neighbors to the stranger within our gates. "Assemble 
the people, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, 
that they may hear, and learn, and fear the Lord your 
God," such was the command of old — a command- 
ment with promise, still in force. Those who live in 
large industrial communities might well seek personal 
acquaintance with foreign workers and especially their 
children. Our parishes might from time to time 



♦See Appendix, Note C. 

29 



Neighbors 

undertake to bring the foreign population into sym- 
pathetic association with the members of the congrega- 
tion. Our mens' clubs and brotherhoods may find 
profitable outlet for activity in making a social survey 
of their communities.* 

The value of foreign-language Services is open to 
differences of opinion. Twenty years ago and more 
this method was largely in vogue. Effort 
language was made to provide Services and Sun- 

day Schools in the foreign tongues in 
several New York parishes, and it is interesting to 
note how frequently, in the early Reports of General 
Convention and elsewhere, occur proposals often car- 
ried into effect, to provide translations of the 
Prayer-book in various languages current in this 
count ry.f This is now largely abandoned. The man- 
ager of St. Bartholomew's parish house, after twenty 
years' experience, thinks that this method has never 
led to any definite goal. He argues that there is no 
more call for an Italian, Swedish or German Sunday 
School, than there is for an Italian, Swedish or Ger- 
man public day school. The Church must follow the 
method of secular pedagogy. 

Whatever may be our view with regard to foreign- 
language Services, however, we would all agree that 



♦Men of old Trinity Church, New York, conducted such 
a survey of their neighborhood some years ago, and the 
report is a valuable sociological document. This is men's 
work and might well be made a regular part of the normal' 
activities of every well-organized men's society. We cannot 
stress too strongly the method of personal touch. 



fSee, in this connection, Chapter VIII. 
30 



Immigration and the Church 

there is need of definite and explicit 
and social information about the immigrant peoples 

— their history, characteristics, habits 
and religious affiliation. The alert Province of New 
England has already gathered a mass of valuable facts. 
In this work there should be general co-operation, and 
our men's societies can be made centres of education 
on these subjects. In Philadelphia our Church is com- 
ing into touch with many foreign elements, both Jew 
and Gentile. The literature of the subject is attain- 
ing very large proportions. 

A second door of opportunity opens to the Church 
along lines of social service. We can often give tangi- 
ble expression to our friendly feeling. This is oppor- 
tune at a time when an awakened social conscience is 
a marked characteristic of Church life. Our social 
service committees will find a field of activity among 
the immigrant population. Happily our legislation 
throws its protection around the Immigrant, but are 
we sure that legislative provisions are always enforced? 
The foreigner is at a grave disadvantage because he 
cannot speak English fluently. He is, many times, at 
the mercy of unscrupulous leaders of his own race. 
We would do well to make the Immigrant a special 
object of watchful interest and concern in this connec- 
tion. Our social service workers should inform them- 
selves concerning wages, working conditions and home 
life of foreigners in their particular community. Sani- 
tation, surroundings of child life, recreational oppor- 
tunities may well come under scrutiny. Happy the 
parish that is able to carry on a social settlement work 
along Church lines! 

31 



Neighbors 

Such work appeals forcefully to the highest in- 
stinct of patriotism. Communities of foreigners grow- 
ing up in our midst, apart from the currents of Ameri- 
can life, are a grave menace to the stability of the 
Commonwealth. We must bring the Immigrants into 
touch with American ideals. They are the raw ma- 
terial of citizenship which must be shaped, moulded 
and inoculated promptly and thoroughly with the 
American spirit. There is call not only for educa- 
tion but for the inculcation of patriotism, loyalty, 
obedience, respect for authority and an intelligent ap- 
preciation of the responsibility of American citizen- 
ship. Perhaps in our theological curriculum we may 
find it expedient to introduce the study of one or two 
modern languages — Italian or Slavic: An acquaint- 
ance with one or more of these tongues would prove 
of inestimable value to a parish priest. Why not ? In 
the High Schools an increasing number of boys are 
studying Spanish for its commercial utility; many 
school teachers in our large seaboard cities are learn- 
ing Italian in order that they may more effectively 
meet the requirements of their pupils; a goodly num- 
ber of persons are registered in Russian courses at 
Columbia University. Surely our Church will not fall 
behind in anything that makes for efficiency in the 
Master's work. 

Finally we Churchmen have a definite responsibility 
in regard to the religious life of the immigrant popu- 
TheReii ious lation. Most of these races represent 
Approach people of profound religious tempera- 

ment. In many cases their Church and nationality 
are indissolubly linked together; the Church plays a 

32 



Immigration and the Church 

large part in their lives ; they regard it with passionate 
devotion. The Slavs in the coal region of Pennsyl- 
vania reproduce all the ancestral religious ceremonies 
and observances of the home Jand. At Easter, tombs 
are constructed in the churches ; a semi-military parish 
organization assigns quaternions of its members to 
guard them; relays succeed each other for a period 
equal to that in which Christ remained in the grave. 

Bulgars in Granite City, 111., observe, with great fes- 
tivity, the annual feast of St. Cyril and St., Methodius, 
inventors of the Cyrillic alphabet; doorways and win- 
dows are trimmed with green boughs; music and 
dancing mark the celebration of the origin of letters 
by these comparatively uneducated foreigners who can 
scarcely read or write. 

Of the Greeks, Dr. Roberts says: "The spirit of 
worship in these people is a phenomenon that cannot 
be found elsewhere in any community." The Rev. A. 
Parker Curtiss, writing of the Greek Church in She- 
boygan, Wis., says : "I enjoy their Services. The 
devotion is piercing. One feels they are engaged in 
real worship. Their behavior is as being at home with 
God. Their worship is marked by a freedom that may 
at first seem like irreverence, but is really a lack of 
self consciousness that is very inspiring after one is 
used to it." 

The Poles are intensely religious. They are great 
builders of churches, as may be seen in parts of New 
Jersey. Passaic, South River, South Amboy — possess 
Polish Church buildings that would be ornaments to 
any metropolitan centre ; and so with many of the 
representatives of this newer immigration. The out- 

33 



Neighbors 

standing fact regarding them is that, in spite of their 
poverty and meagre educational equipment, they rep- 
resent an ancient religious heritage of great power 
and richness. 

We must learn to appreciate them in the fine Christ- 
like spirit of toleration that recognizes the spiritual 
validity of religious experiences and 

The Ancient , f -r- 

churches customs other than our own. Except 

Inviolable , . 1 • , 

under pressure of rare and exceptional 
circumstances we should not undertake to shake the 
allegiance of these people to their ancient faith by 
inaugurating independent Churches amongst them. 
Rather should we endeavor to help their Churches to 
minister to their spiritual needs, and to fill their 
matchless and ancient liturgies so full of the Spirit 
that not one word of them is empty. 

We are already learning how to co-operate with our 
brethren of the Eastern Orthodox Church without in- 
trusion, intermeddling or proselytizing. An example 
of our method comes from Harrisburg where Bishop 
Darlington was asked to officiate at the laying of the 
corner-stone of the Bulgarian Church in Steelton. 
The Bulgars have no Bishops in America. They there- 
fore appealed to the Bishop of Harrisburg as a Bishop 
of the Holy Catholic Church in undoubted succession 
and unquestioned orders. He responded readily to 
their call, but with no attempt to bring them under our 
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Much good work was done 
by that incident, to the cause of Christian unity and 
comity. 

The presence of the Immigrant amongst us is a chal- 
lenge to our Church to introduce into the polyglot 

34 



Immigration and the Church 

population of America the spirit that "maketh men to 
be of one mind in an house," so that in our industrial 
centres and mining regions there may be born again 
a unity of racial elements that will repeat in our day 
the wondrous experience of the world's first Pentecost. 
The Church can prove an important factor in helping 
the nation to meet the problem of foreign-speaking 
peoples within the body politic. 

This problem is by no means peculiar to America, 

but America has dealt with the situation in a unique 

iai wa y* Switzerland has incorporated dif- 

probiem and f erent racial elements with no attempt at 

the American t r 

solution assimilation, and there have resulted 

clearly defined French, Italian and German cantons. 
Austria and Hungary have sought by drastic measures 
to hold diverse races in strict subjection to a dominant 
German or Magyar element, and to crush their national 
institutions, language and aspirations; and in conse- 
quence there was a seething discontent which came 
to expression in the Great War. Russia's aim under 
Alexander III was complete "Russification" ; the rally- 
ing cry was nationality, orthodoxy, autocracy; the 
Jews felt the heavy hand of persecution ; the Russian 
language was imposed upon the Baltic provinces, and 
Finland's ancient rights were ignored. The present 
conditions in Russia are the result. Germany waged 
persistent warfare on the Polish language and nation- 
ality in Posen — that part of dismembered Poland 
which fell to her at the partition ; and today Poland is 
lost to her. 

America, on the other hand, has been hospitable to 
each racial group. She has granted the fullest free- 

35 



Neighbors 

dam to all. While allowing each to perpetuate its 
language and traditions, she has sought, by a patient 
process of education, to inspire the Immigrant with 
love for and loyalty to American institutions and 
ideals. It is an experiment without precedent; but it 
has amply justified itself. Men of every tongue 
fought throughout the war beneath the "Stars and 
Stripes," and poured out their blood in America's de- 
fence. This is no mere figure of rhet- 

Thc Result . . , f , L j ., 

one; it was the story of the daily casu- 
alty lists with the names of those whose nearest kin 
are yet resident overseas. The nearest kin of killed 
and wounded on August 7, 1918, were reported as 
living in Russia, Wales, Holland, Austrian Poland, 
Norway, Denmark. The lists of August 9th reported 
Italians, Russians, Poles and Greeks among the dead 
and wounded. The lists of August 12th record a 
Russian and an unusually heavy toll of Italians. 

The fine spirit of our foreign-speaking congrega- 
tions is illustrated in a letter from the Rev. T. D. 
Malan, rector of the French Episcopal Church l'Eglise 
du St. Sauveur, Philadelphia. "This war has told a 
sad story for this church. Thirty-three of our men 
are at the front — all our valid men. Our hard-pressed 
women have worked, conserved, and sacrificed during 
the past four years as few organizations have done 
anywhere for the Red Cross of France and America, 
the war orphans of France and Belgium, the blind 
soldiers, and for various hospitals near the front. 
Now our American-born boys have been drafted. 
Most of them volunteered before the draft. Pray for 
this church." 

36 



Immigration and the Church 

The Polish National Church of the Holy Mother 
of the Rosary in Buffalo, N. Y., had 217 men in the 
service, and on August 4th, 1918, five of our clergy 
assisted at the raising of a service flag by this con- 
gregation, which is one of the largest parishes under 
Bishop Hodur's jurisdiction. 

The Rev. Samuel Tyler of Rochester, N. Y., speak- 
ing recently of his experiences at Camp Sheridan, 
where he was engaged in Y. M. C. A. work, said that 
for the first time in the history of the nation, a United 
States federal court was convened in a camp, and men 
of eighteen nationalities took the oath of allegiance, 
after their character and work had been vouched for 
by their officers, and they had answered the regular 
questions. In this company, there were three Swiss, 
three French, one Brazilian, twenty-five Greeks, six 
Swedes, one Rumanian, one Serbian, three Holland- 
ers, seven Turks, one German, eight Danes, one hun- 
dred and twenty-five Russians, one hundred Italians 
and sixty-five Austro-Hungarians. 

Recently Justice Benedict, sitting at Camp Upton, 
made more than 300 citizens from soldiers who had 
entered the ranks as aliens. Former subjects of Russia 
predominated among the new citizens. One hundred 
of them took the oath. The others were divided as 
follows : Italy, 74 ; England, 55 ; Switzerland, 1 ; Hol- 
land, 1 ; Greece, 13 ; Sweden, 6 ; Turkey, 28 ; Norway, 
6; France, 1; Germany, 4; Austria, 13; Spain, 2; 
Denmark, 3 ; Rumania, 3 ; Bulgaria, 1. Constantly re- 
curring incidents of this kind afford ample ground for 

37 



Neighbors 

an optimistic attitude regarding the American solution 
of the immigrant problem.* 

How the recent war may affect immigration is a 

question that must often have suggested itself. The 

analogy of the past does not help us, 

The War and u ^ • , 1 

the Future of because this war was so stupendous and 

Immigration . t , T 

involved so many nations. It is essen- 
tially different from all previous experience. If the 
economic motive lies at the root of our immigration, 
then we may expect a continuance of immigration 
after the war. War destroys capital and piles up 
enormous debts with their consequent burdens. The 
work of reconstruction will move slowly at best. 
Therefore we may look for a flow of immigration to 
the relatively more prosperous fields of our mines, 
mills, and factories., The spirit of adventure, fanned 
into flame by the experiences of conflict, will be an 
inspiring motive to drive thousands to our shores, and 
still the New York Cathedral of St. John the Divine 
with its Chapels of the Tongues will stand as a symbol 
of the Church's task to gather the many diverse 
elements, called of God into the unity of His Church. 
But it is too early to form any judgment. Prof. 
Jeremiah W. Jenks, writing recently, says : "It does not 
seem to me possible to have any opinion that will be 
of any value regarding immigration into the United 
States after the War, until we know more about the 
terms of peace. Doubtless there will be a great pres- 
sure toward immigration, unless that is definitely re- 
stricted either here or by Europe, or unless some very 



♦See further, Our "Aliens"— Were They Loyal or Disloyal? 
by George Creel, Everybody's Magazine, March, 1919. 



38 



Immigration and the Church 

radical measures are taken in the way of financing the 
European countries devastated by war. If, however, 
either of these things happen, immigration will be 
decidedly checked. I should not venture to express 
any opinion yet." 

Under these circumstances the only wise course for 
Churchmen to pursue is one of preparedness. The 
appalling loss of man-power in Europe may compel the 
foreign governments to restrict emigration in every 
possible way. On the other hand, the lure of America 
is very great, and it may prove too strong to be 
guarded against by any legislation whatever. We must 
at least be ready to meet the situation, in case a lasting 
peace should open the flood-gates of immigration ; and 
meantime it is absolutely essential that we study the 
vast and varied problems which the Immigrant presents 
even under existing conditions.* 



*For a classification of European peoples, see Appendix, 
Note D. 



39 



CHAPTER III 

FROM THE NEAR EAST 

PARTI 
The Greeks 

Influence of the Land of Greece on Its People 

THE physical features of the Greeks' homeland 
have had a profound effect in moulding the 
character of its inhabitants. 
The irregular mountain ranges, which divide the 
country into more or less isolated districts, had the 
Mountain and e ^ ect » especially in earlier times, of mini- 
Sea mizing national unity. Ancient Greece 

consisted largely of small communities, each develop- 
ing its own corporate life, giving rise to the City- 
States, isolated one from the other, and resulting in 
the spirit of clannishness, which is characteristic of 
the modern Greek as seen in America today. 

Another controlling feature in the development of 
racial traits has been the intimate relation which sea 
and land bear to each other. The coastline of Greece 
is a veritable lace-work of bays and inlets and out- 
lying islands. Nowhere, except in certain parts of 
Thessaly in the extreme north, is the Greek more than 

40 



From the Near East 

fifty miles from salt water. Hence the sea presents 
no terror to him. Rather has it tempted him to use 
it freely; it has made of him a seafarer and a trav- 
eller. 

This happy combination of land and sea, coupled 
with a varied and gentle landscape, and a climate of 
no marked extremes, has given to the 
Greek a buoyant, joyous disposition. 
Nature has appealed to him in beautiful guise, and 
he early learned to people his woods and streams with 
gentle, childlike divinities, as far removed as possible 
from the harsh and forceful gods of northern Europe. 
The ancient Greek was mystical and contemplative, a 
lover of natural beauty, of physical completeness ; but 
the climate and the environment in which he lived, 
forbade the spirit of quiescence characteristic of the 
Oriental races. On the contrary, he felt the constant 
stimulus which enabled the Greeks to achieve the most 
splendid triumphs of the human mind in art, letters, 
philosophy and politics. Christianity was born in the 
East and, in Europe, was cradled in Greece, its earliest 
foothold being in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens and 
Corinth. The Church at Rome was Greek in language 
and literature and the earliest Church Fathers were 
Greek. The Nicene Creed is an Eastern symbol. 
The historical setting of the Ecumenical Councils was 
Greek. 

How the Immigration Began 

In 1848 only one Greek is reported as arriving in 
New York, and in the period of seventeen years, begin- 
ning with 1847, the total number of Greeks entering 

41 



Neighbors 

the United States was 77. As late as 1886 our Consul 
to Greece reported that in that year there was no emi- 
gration from Greece to the United States, or to any 
other country. By 1900, however, the total number 
of Greeks among us was about 9,000, and in ten years 
this number had increased to 130,000. In the single 
year 1914 the number of Greeks entering this country 
was 35,832. 

The motive for emigration was largely economic. 
The failure of the currant crop in 1891 struck a blow 
at this national industry, and the effect 
was registered in the increased numbers 
seeking their fortunes in this new land. Every sec- 
tion of Greece has contributed to the immigrant 
stream. In 1903 Consul McGinley reported that thou- 
sands from Sparta had emigrated, and in some cases, 
entire villages were denuded of able bodied men. 

The early Greek immigration consisted entirely of 
men, and it was not until 1905 that their women began 
coming in any considerable numbers. The latter have 
not, however, come into any close contact with Amer- 
ican social life, since they never work outside the 
home, are forbidden by tradition to enter industrial 
life, and never are found in domestic service. In their 
homes they are excellent housewives, and a Greek 
house is always clean and comfortable., 

The Greek is independent, self-reliant, ambitious 
and a shrewd business man. When a Greek has ac- 
Greek cumulated a little capital he goes into 

character business for himself, and Prof. Ross 

asserts that every Greek in America is self-supporting. 
The Greek is a clever tradesman ' and brings to his 

42 



From the Near East 

new home a spirit of thrift and enterprise. This is 
an age-long characteristic. Homer relates how Glaucus 
and Diomede, the Trojan and the Greek, met in battle 
on the Trojan plain. The latter challenged his foe and 
inquired concerning his ancestry. When Glaucus un- 
folded his high lineage the two refused to fight and 
swore friendship. The wily Diomede, thereupon, sug- 
gested an exchange of arms to seal the oath, and gave 
his own bronze armor for the costly gold armor of the 
Trojan hero. Thus Homer unconsciously portrays the 
instinct for keen bargaining which is no less pro- 
nounced in the Greek of America today, making him a 
clever tradesman. The "wily Ulysses" was a prototype. 
This national trait, however, is not without value, for 
it results in the Greeks bringing to their new home a 
spirit of thrift and enterprise, and never being found 
among the applicants for public charity. Their crimes 
are chiefly violations of corporation ordinances and 
the sanitary code; and as the Greek rises in the eco- 
nomic scale the percentage of crime declines. 

The Greeks are uniformly temperate and sober ; with 
them the coffee house takes the place of the saloon. This 
is a distinctly Hellenic institution and plays its part in 
the life of any American Greek community. Here the 
men may be seen at any hour sipping black coffee, 
smoking cigarettes, playing cards and reading Greek 
newspapers, that keep them in touch with the politics 
of their homeland, in which they are always interested. 

The weaker side of Hellenic character is seen chiefly 
in factiousness. That individualism which is so 
marked throughout their whole racial history is appar- 
ent today in the jealousies, feuds, factions, rivalry of 

43 



Neighbors 

leadership and intestine quarreling in the community, 
the church and the press ; though Bishop Parker, who 
has come into close contact with Greek life in New 
England, inclines to the opinion that this characteristic 
has been exaggerated, and that in many cases of tur- 
bulence the real offenders are Albanians, Circassians, 
or Turks, living alongside of Greeks, and ignorantly 
confounded with them. Among Italian immigrants 
crimes of violence are common. Among the Greeks 
the feuds never issue in violence, but their hatred ex- 
hausts itself in mutual vituperation. 

Not only do the Greeks quarrel among themselves, 
but they exhibit strong national prejudice and racial 
intolerance and do not work harmoni- 
ously with Rumanians, Bulgars or Slavs 
generally. The mill agents at Lowell complain of their 
Greek employes who form small groups in constant 
altercation with one another. But this spirit of in- 
dividualism — of clannishness, is not to be hastily con- 
demned. It has its roots in the past. The very word 
democracy is of purely Greek origin and signifies the 
rule of the people. The Greek has ever been a lover 
of freedom, he is jealous of the rights of his special 
community. It was neither political oppression nor 
religious persecution, as in the case of other races, 
which brought the Greek to America, but rather the 
desire for a larger opportunity to express his innate 
group-consciousness. A sympathetic attitude on our 
part will in time give him a wider outlook. 

44 



From the Near East 

Later Development of Immigration 

There are large Greek communities in New York, 
Philadelphia and Boston. The Greek stores in New 
York center in the vicinity of Madison 
Street, where Greek signs on restaurants 
are noticed, and the American offices of Greek busi- 
ness firms are to be found. There are also numerous 
Greek stores on Sixth Avenue in the vicinity of 30th 
Street. The larger Greek communities usually are 
provided with a fine church building of Byzantine 
architecture — its native type — rich in color within and 
adorned with sacred pictures known as icons. The con- 
gregation of "The Annunciation" acquired a striking 
Byzantine building on 54th Street, New York, orig- 
inally erected by Baptists after the model of a church 
in Sparta. 

Lowell, Mass., presents a Greek colony concentrated 
in one section. Along Market Street beginning at 
Dutton, the Hellenic character is pronounced. With 
almost no exception the stores are Greek for several 
blocks. The foreign aspect of the neighborhood is 
intensified at Jefferson Street when we catch a glimpse 
of the gold dome of Holy Trinity Church, an edifice 
of great beauty which stands out in contrast to the 
ramshackle buildings of the neighborhood. Large 
numbers of Greeks find employment in the mills. 

From the Atlantic seaboard the Greeks have found 
their way to Pittsburgh and to the Ohio Valley. In 
Cincinnati a Greek lodging house is to be noted op- 
posite the Central Union Depot. The disused Franklin 
Bank Building on Third Street near Main, has been 

45 



Neighbors 

secured for a church, a particularly fitting arrange- 
ment because the building is modelled after the Par- 
thenon with a portico of Doric columns. 

The procession has moved westward to Chicago 
and the towns of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. In 

Chicago there is a large colony in the 

neighborhood of South Halsted Street. 
It is not unusual on Good Friday night to see the 
stores in this vicinity draped in purple and black, and 
at midnight a procession marches through the street 
carrying gleaming tapers. The workers of Hull 
House have met sympathetic response to their efforts 
among the Hellenic population. The classic plays 
rendered by the Greeks in their native tongue are 
always an interesting feature of the activities of this 
social settlement. 

Groups of Greeks will be found in the principal 
towns of the far West. The youth are among the 
patrons of the gymnasium and swimming pools at 
the Y. M. C. A. They are fond of wrestling and 
boxing. At Sunrise, Wyo., the miners are mostly 
Greeks, and the Rev. Paul B. James, dean of the 
Platte, who has a mission at Sunrise, sends out a 
Greek notice of Services. 

These immigrants have invaded the southern States 
in large numbers. Strong settlements are found in 

Birmingham, Ala. ; Charleston, S. C. ; 

Savannah and Atlanta, Ga., and New 
Orleans, La. By far, the most striking colony is at 
Tarpon Springs on the Gulf coast of Florida, where 
the life and customs of the homeland are closely 
reproduced. This is the world's largest sponge centre 

46 



From the Near East 

whence over a hundred vessels go forth to the Gulf 
of Mexico. The sponge divers are Greeks. Out 
of a population of four thousand, one-half are Greeks, 
representing every phase of activity — lawyer, doctor, 
artist, teacher, banker, merchant, baker, grocer, 
sponge-diver, etc. The signs along the principal street 
are in Greek characters; the newspaper carries a 
Greek page; placards announce a Greek play at the 
theatre. On the Feast of the Epiphany, which occurs 
on January 19th, according to the Julian calendar,* 
commemoration is made of the baptism of Christ. 
One feature is the blessing of the waters which ap- 
peals forcefully to these seafaring people. The pop- 
ulace is early astir; icons are carried toward the 
bayou where flags and decorations are already in 
evidence ; the coffee houses are thronged with Greeks ; 
American and Greek flags float from the buildings. 
The Church Service begins early in the morning and 
continues three hours. At its close there is a proces- 
sion through the streets led by the priest in his robes. 
Music is provided by a local band. The congregation, 
augmented by American visitors, marches to the bayou 
where numerous boats and launches have assembled. 
Some of them are quaint in construction, and bear 
such Greek names as Enosis, Andronike, Pillaros. On 
reaching the decorated platform at the water's edge, 
the priest offers prayers, holds aloft a small Cross, 
and makes an address to the men lined up on the 
brightly colored boats ready to plunge into the water 
after the sacred emblem. Presently the priest tosses 



♦The Julian calendar is still followed by the Russians and 
the Greeks. It is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar 
which we use. 

47 



Neighbors 

the metal Cross into the water and the divers are after 
it in a flash, the successful one receiving the congratu- 
lations of his friends and sometimes a more substantial 
prize. A Service in the Church follows, and the rest 
of the day is given up to festivity. 

The Greek has not only found his way into every 
section of the country, but he has also entered almost 
The Greek every industry. Cigarettes made by 

in Trade Stephanos of Philadelphia and Melach- 

rinos of New York are well known. Greek confec- 
tioners abound, though Plato excludes this trade from 
his ideal republic. Our boot-blacks are largely Greeks, 
and recall the days of Aristophanes when, in the 
dusty streets of Athens, the pedestrian was on the 
watch for a sponge or a basin of oil mixed with pitch 
for use on his sandals. The economic activities of 
American Greeks include, besides those mentioned, 
peddling, milling, mining and spinning. The new- 
comer stands ready to take the first job of any kind 
that offers. He will usually join a gang in construc- 
tion work. Bishop Peterkin once came upon a group 
of Greeks in a remote county in West Virginia. They 
were recent comers and were working on a railroad. 
When they heard of the Bishop's arrival they sent an 
interpreter to ask if they might escort him to the 
little church, which they did with great ceremony. 
The Bishop felt sorry to see them stand, as is their 
custom, through the Service and sermon, not under- 
standing a word of English, and he gave the benedic- 
tion in Greek to their great satisfaction. 

Thus into every section, following diverse occupa- 
tions, have come the Greeks, speaking with little vari- 

48 




MELETIOS MATAXAKIS, METROPOLITAN OF 
ATHENS 



From the Near East 

ation the language through which the New Testament 
was given to the world — a language which has under- 
gone less change than has our own English since the 
days of Chaucer. 

Religious Affiliations of the Greeks 
The Greek Church holds a place of supreme im- 
portance in the life of the people and in their history. 
The Greek Among no people is the identity of 

church Church and State more thoroughly ac- 

cepted. Whatever seems even remotely to trespass 
on the former is regarded as treason to the latter, and 
no nation presents greater religious homogeneity. The 
National Church is part of the Eastern Orthodox 
Communion which includes the four patriarchates of 
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem; 
the national Churches of Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, 
Rumania, and Bulgaria; the Church of Cyprus; the 
Sinaitic Church, and certain independent metropoli- 
tanates in what was Austro-Hungary. 

Unlike the Church of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox 
Church recognizes no one man as its head. The Latin 
ideal of one central authority, a universal rule obliterat- 
ing national distinctions, and a liturgy in one language, 
is foreign to the Eastern Church. The latter includes 
people of many languages and of diverse traditions, 
customs and racial types. Each National Church has 
its own independent life, but all are one in the Faith 
as defined by the seven ecumenical councils, and all use 
the same liturgy, though in various languages. This 
liturgy is rhetorical, impressive, rich in symbolism, 
adapted to the mystical temperament of the East. The 

49 



Neighbors 

Bible is freely circulated. The priests are permitted 
to marry, but the Bishops are selected from the monas- 
tic establishments, and are, therefore, celibate. 

Our own Communion has much in common with the 
Greek Church. The threefold ministry and the inde- 
pendence of national churches are cher- 
chlLShSd ished alike by Anglican and Eastern 
the Andean Churchmen. The liturgies are similar. 
The Greek prayer of St. Chrysostom is in daily use 
amongst us. Our great Eastern hymns, "The Day of 
Resurrection" and "Come, ye faithful, raise the strain" 
and many others, have come to us from Greek sources. 
The Anglican and Greek Churches represent a common 
life, a common spirit, a common fidelity to the his- 
toric Creeds, and the common possession of an Apos- 
tolic Ministry.* 

This fellowship was splendidly expressed when 
Greece was just emerging into independent national 
The Mission J** e after the long dark era of Turkish 
to Greece servitude and oppression. The American 

Church gave immediate practical manifestation of 
affection by sending a mission of help in the person of 
the Rev. John J. Hill and his wife, who arrived in 
Athens before the Turks had surrendered the city to 
the new government. For fifty years they labored un- 
tiringly, winning the confidence of the nation. The 
name of Dr. Hill is venerated in Greece today. The 
city of Athens erected a marble monument at his 
grave. His wisdom and tact did much to commend 
our Communion to the confidence of the Hellenic 
people. When the late Bishop Littlejohn visited 

♦See further, Appendix, Note E. 
50 



From the Near East 

Athens, he had several interviews with Germanos, 
the Metropolitan, and on Christmas Day, 1894, he 
wrote a letter giving admirable expression to the 
warm regard which the Americans cherish toward 
the East. "There are many reasons," he says, "why 
we of the remoter West should regard with affec- 
tionate veneration all branches of the Holy Eastern 
Church in communion with the Patriarch of Con- 
stantinople. We are not unmindful of what she has 
suffered and achieved through ages of change, op- 
pression and disaster. We are grateful for her patient 
and courageous witness, in times of peril and per- 
secution, to the faith and order of the primitive 
Church. We are glad to recognize her dignity and 
honor as the Mother Church of Christendom. It is 
part of our happiness, as it is also of our strength, to 
know that we have much in common with the Eastern 
Church, and that, in some degree, we are sharers in 
her noblest treasures." 

The historical position of our Church is well under- 
stood in Greece. In 1870, a conference took place 
between a number of Anglican clergy and Archbishop 
Alexander Lycurgus of Syria, who was on a visit to 
England. At this gathering they discussed the number 
of Sacraments, the Eucharist, the priesthood, icons, 
the Seventh Ecumenical Council. When the meeting 
broke up the Archbishop remarked, "When I return to 
Greece, I will say that the Church of England is not 
like other Protestant bodies. It is a sound Catholic 
Church very like our own, and I trust that by friendly 
discussion the union between the two Churches may be 
brought about." 

51 



Neighbors 

The Greek Church in America 

It is not surprising that a people so passionately 
devoted to their Church should take prompt measures 
Ecclesiastical t0 P rov ide the religious ministrations of 
Loyalty their ancient Faith in their new homes. 

When a body of Greeks settle in one locality they 
organize a "community" made up of all Greeks in a 
given district, with officers, executive committee, terms 
of membership and financial obligations. Its first 
care is to make provision for the Church Services. 

As early as 1867, Greek cotton merchants established 
a church in New Orleans, but with three or four 
exceptions, the congregations have come into existence 
within the past fifteen years. The Chicago community 
erected its first church in 1898. At numerous points, 
Services are held in temporary quarters. Congrega- 
tions, but no church buildings, are reported at Colum- 
bus and Toledo, CX; Vandegrift, Pa.; Stamford and 
Bridgeport, Conn.; Dover and Somersworth, N. H. ; 
Memphis, Tenn. ; Biddeford, Me. At McGill, Nev., 
the Greeks own a small chapel, but have no resident 
priest. At Ely, in the same State, there was a flourish- 
ing Greek colony some years ago, but the number has 
diminished because the mining companies employ 
other laborers more extensively. The Greeks met 
many discouragements in maintaining Services. They 
secured a priest but he grew homesick and went back 
to Athens in less than three months. They now send 
to Salt Lake City for a clergyman when need arises. 

52 



From the Near East 

In Brunswick, Ga., there is a large number of 
Greeks who avail themselves of St. Mark's Episcopal 
Church. Last winter a British steamer 
brought in 72 Greek sailors picked up 
near Gibraltar, survivors of the torpedoed Ioannina. 
The rector of St. Mark's, discovering their plight, 
took immediate steps for their relief, and on the fol- 
lowing Sunday the entire crew occupied the Gospel 
side of St. Mark's Church, and recited the Nicene 
Creed in their own language. 

In Jacksonville, Fla., occasional Services are held 
for the Greeks, in St. John's Church ; and a most en- 
couraging work is being carried on among Greek and 
Syrian children by St. Stephen's Church in the 
same city. Concerning this work the rector writes 
that a large proportion of the children of his Church 
School are Greek and Syrian, and that they attend the 
Church Service regularly. One afternoon a week, 
these children come together for manual training and 
at the same time are taught the catechism, hymns and 
psalms which they memorize, as some of them are 
unable to read. This indicates a possible method o»f 
approach. 

The Greek Church in the United States registered 
the same fluctuations with which we are familiar in 
our own pioneer missionary efforts — 
M^eed* the struggle to obtain a church home, to 

gather a steady constituency and to 
secure a priest. For years its condition was like that of 
our own Church prior to the consecration of an Ameri- 
can Bishop — numerous congregations with no central 
authority. Nominally the Holy Synod in Athens exer- 

53 



Neighbors 

cised jurisdiction, but the tie was very loose and the 
situation was /complicated by the fact that many 
Greeks and Greek priests had come, not from Greece, 
but from the Turkish Empire and the jurisdiction of 
Constantinople. 

This introduced into the Greek Church in America 
a chaotic element visible in an exaggerated degree of 
local self-government and parochialism, no certain 
tenure oif office for the priests, and an unfortunate 
lack of unity and cohesion, each congregation being 
a law unto itself and subject to neither Bishop nor 
Synod. 

In the year 1918, this condition was finally reme- 
died by the appointment of Bishop Alexander of 
Rodostolos as Bishop of the Greek Church in the 
United States, with residence in New York, but hav- 
ing jurisdiction over the whole Church throughout 
the country. 

The Greek Church offers an inspiring illustration 
of male activity such as is unknown in any other 
religious body. Men are interested in every detail 
of its administration. There is no call for a "Men's 
Forward Movement!" Male leadership is the normal 
condition. 

In some places an existing building has been rented 
or purchased. In Savannah, Ga., the Greeks bought 
old St. Paul's Church. In Philadelphia they secured 
the old All Saints' property. In every place the Church 
is able to count on the staunch loyalty and devotion 
of its people. The ill-advised efforts of Protestant 
bodies to win the Greeks away from their allegiance 
to the national faith make little headway. But the 

54 



From the Near East 

individualism which found expression in the passion 
for local autonomy in the ancient City States has 
reproduced itself in the Greek Church in our country, 
with an utter absence of corporate life. For the sake 
of its own stability and in loyalty to ecclesiastical 
principles the Church was forced to perfect its organ- 
ization. Through the appointment of a resident 
Bishop, and the resulting unified administration, the 
progress of this Church is assured.* 

Finally, in what way can the Episcopal Church estab- 
lish helpful relations with the Greek Church in 
Th« way of America? We have already intimated 
Helpfulness t h at there is a natural kinship. Our recog- 
nized and fixed policy is against any attempt to prose- 
lytize Greek Churchmen. We have only one aim and 
that is to strengthen them in their ancient faith and 
help them to reproduce their historic Church here in all 
its strength and beauty, as an influential factor in 
American religious life. 

We must inform ourselves as fully as possible in 
regard to the Greek people and their Church. We 
must understand its history, struggles and teaching. 
We must enter into a sympathetic appreciation of the 
forms of worship and customs. Our Mission Study 
Classes will find here a fruitful field. We should 
seek personal contact with Greeks in our own com- 
munities. Many of them have a hard lot. They are 
strangers in a strange land, unable to speak the strange 
tongue. The expression of brotherly interest will 
hearten them. 

Where there are established congregations, the in- 

*For list of Greek churches see Appendix, Note F. 

55 



Neighbors 

terchange of greetings with their priests on the greater 
ecclesiastical celebrations always creates a kindly fel- 
lowship. The Greek clergy have frequently been in 
attendance at our conventions and gather- 
Hospitaiity ings, and instances of friendly contact 
are innumerable. The Bishop of Georgia participated 
some years ago in the Greek celebration in Savannah 
and rode in a carriage with the Archimandrite in the 
public procession. Bishop Darlington often gathers the 
local Greeks in his house at Harrisburg to sing their 
national songs. The Bishop of New Hampshire made 
a happy impression on the Greek communities of New 
York and Brooklyn last winter by his visits to their 
churches. The Anglican and Eastern Church Associa- 
tion is working along these lines with gratifying 
response. 

The most concrete and practical way we can show 
our good will is by placing our church buildings at 
the disposal of the Greeks. This has been done in 
many places. In the absence of their own priests, 
our clergy have frequently been given the opportunity 
of ministering to them in their need. Undoubtedly 
our Theological Seminaries will be able to offer assist- 
ance to Greeks preparing for the priesthood of their 
Church. 

In a spirit of mutual confidence and brotherly ap- 
proach, we can do much to strengthen the Greek 
Church, laboring, as it does, under the limitations of 
pioneer conditions in our land. The Greeks have 
come to stay. One-fifth are already naturalized citi- 
zens. They enter heartily into American life. By 
tradition and temper they are predisposed toward the 

56 



From the Near East 

best ideals of this country, and their ancient Church 
is destined to become a potent factor in American ec- 
clesiastical life and a mighty influence in the righteous- 
ness of the nation. The Greek Church at Lynn, Mass., 
well illustrates the spirit that pervades the stronger 
congregations of American Greeks. The Rev. Herbert 
Johnson says of it, "The church has a fine situation 
opposite the City Hall, near the centre of its people. 
It is doing a big work and is co-operating with the 
other Churches as well as with the civic playgrounds 
and the Associated Charities." 

The outlook for the Greek Church in America has 
been filled with large promise through the visit of the 

a significant ^ ost ^ ev * Meletios Mataxakis, Metro- 
vi8it politan of Athens, and President of the 

Holy Synod of Greece, who arrived in New York 
toward the end of August, 1918. He was welcomed 
with great enthusiasm by the Greeks at a public meet- 
ing in Carnegie Hall. The Bishop of Harrisburg was 
selected to deliver the address on this occasion. The 
Metropolitan visited Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago, 
Springfield and St. Louis. Wherever he went, he 
created a profound impression. He was received by 
President Wilson. One of the pleasant features of his 
journeyings was the interest of Churchmen in each 
city. In Pittsburgh, Bishop Whitehead was among 
the earliest callers, and received him at his house and 
at the Church of the Ascension. In Chicago, Bishop 
Griswold spoke at the public meeting, and the clergy 
presented an address of welcome. In Springfield, 
Bishop Sherwood delivered a greeting. At a public 
service in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 

57 



Neighbors 

New York, Bishop Greer welcomed him with cor- 
diality, and the Anglican Eastern Church Association 
arranged a dinner in his honor in Synod Hall. Finally, 
at the close of his stay, a Service was held in the 
Church of the Redeemer, Brooklyn, at which Bishop 
Darlington presented the Greek prelate with an en- 
grossed testimonial on behalf of the Committees of 
the General Convention to confer with the Eastern 
Orthodox Church. So great was the spell of the Metro- 
politan's personality that even the Protestant ministers 
tendered him a dinner under the auspices of the 
Clergy Club of New York, and the spirit of the occa- 
sion would seem to give promise of an "entente cor- 
diale" between the Greek Church and the Protestant 
educational endeavors in the Near East. 

Archbishop Meletios was accompanied on his trip 
by several representatives of the Church, among whom 
were Archimandrite Chrysostom Papadopoulos, direc- 
tor of the Theological Seminary and Professor in the 
University of Athens; Archimandrite Alexander Pa- 
padopulos, a Secretary of the Holy Synod of Greece: 
Bishop Alexander of Rodostolos, and Dr. Hamilcar 
S. Alivisatos, chief of the ecclesiastical department in 
the ministry of education. The object of the Mission 
was to effect the organization of the Greek Church in 
America. With this end in view, the Metropolitan and 
his advisers made a careful examination of the Greek 
communities and studied carefully the ecclesiastical 
constitutions of those Churches which are close to 
the Orthodox in the fundamental basis of government. 
"The system which most attracts our attention," said 
Archimandrite Chrysostom, "is that of the Episcopal 

58 



From the Near East 

Church, because it is most near to our own and be- 
cause we are connected to that Church by special 
bonds." Upon his departure, as we have already seen, 
the Metropolitan left Bishop Alexander of Rodostolos 
in charge of the Greek Church in the United States, 
with the title "Synodical Bishop." 

PART II 
Our Syrian and Armenian Neighbors 

A GLANCE at the map will show what a remark- 
able position the land of Syria occupies as the 
point of contact between Asia, Africa and Eu- 
rope. It is on the direct line of travel between Asia 
and Europe, and it is part of the only land-route be- 
s *a— The tween Africa and Europe. It has there- 
cross-Boads f ore been, throughout the ages, the high- 
way of the nations. The cities of Syria are rich in 
historical significance for Jew, Moslem and Christian. 
Damascus, the oldest inhabited city in the world, is 
connected with Bible history from Abraham to Saul of 
Tarsus. Jerusalem, from the days of Melchizedec to. 
the present, has held a supreme place in the spiritual 
life of mankind. In Antioch the disciples of our Lord 
were first called Christians; from that city St. Paul 
started on his missionary journeys ; and there, in the 
second century, the heroic St. Ignatius was Bishop. 
Beirut, the important seaport of Syria, is of more 
modern interest as the centre of a great Protestant 
educational work. From all these cities, as well as 
from the country districts, come our Syrian immi- 
grants. 

59 



Neighbors 

The Syrians claim Phoenician ancestry, and are 
indeed akin to those hardy voyagers of early days. 
They are not, as is sometimes supposed, 
Turks, though they have long been sub- 
jects of the Turkish Empire ; nor are they in any way 
connected with Mongolian Asiatics. Originally, they 
spoke a language known as Aramaic, or Syriac, traces 
of which are found in the New Testament in the 
phrases, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani" ; "Talitha cumi" ; 
"Ephphatha" ; but this language is in general use 
today only in the Church's liturgy, having been super- 
seded in southern Syria by Arabic, and in the northern 
districts by Turkish. Hence the Syrians proper are 
sometimes known as Syro-Arabs., Like their Phoeni- 
cian ancestors, the Syrians are ambitious and thrifty 
tradesmen. Possibly it was their shrewdness in trade 
which evoked the bitter complaints of the Roman 
writer Juvenal against the influx of Greeks and Syr- 
ians into Rome in his day ; certainly this same business 
aptitude is a factor in the hatred which the modern 
Turk feels for the Syrian today and which has re- 
sulted in such terrible persecutions. 

The stream of Syrian immigration into the United 
States had its rise at the time of the World's Colum- 
bian Exposition in Chicago in 1892. Prior to that 
date Syrians had come at intervals, one at a time. In 
1878 Dr. Joseph Arbeely and his family of nine 
represented the first immigrant family. Arbeely en- 
tered the employ of our Government at Ellis Island. 
The earliest centre of Syrian settlement in the 
United States is in New York, extending from Cort- 

60 



From the Near East 

Syrian im- ^ andt Street to Battery Place along 
migration Washington and streets adjacent. The 

visitor is at once conscious that he is in the midst 
of a foreign community. The names on the show- 
windows are in Arabic characters ; swarthy children 
are playing on the door steps ; a number of old women 
are coming out of the Maronite* Church of St. Joseph ; 
a block away the visitor spies a painted glass window 
of St. George and the Dragon, where the top floor of 
a building has been converted into the Melchite 
Church of St. George. 

Some years ago Trinity Church made a social sur- 
vey of this territory. The report states : "Within this 
district the Syrians are engaged in the manufacture 
of lace and kimonos, as importers and peddlers. They 
are ambitious and thrifty and soon become independ- 
ent. After saving enough money they show a tendency 
to move to the newer Syrian settlements in New York 
and Brooklyn. Their stay in the district, therefore, 
is a means to an end, and while here, they make 
a business of taking fellow countrymen as lodgers to 
help themselves the more quickly to leave the section. 
During the spring and summer months numbers leave 
the district to peddle laces and shawls in the sur- 
rounding towns and summer resorts." 

The more prosperous Syrians early turned toward 
Brooklyn as a place of residence, and quite a business 
district has sprung up on lower Atlantic Avenue, 
State Street, and places adjacent.. Ten years ago 
conservative estimates placed the number of Syrians in 



♦For a brief account of the Maronites and Melchites see 
Appendix, Note G. 

61 



Neighbors 

New York and Brooklyn at 10,000. Lawrence, Mass., 
stood next with 5,000 Syrians chiefly employed in the 
woolen and cotton mills, and living in the vicinity of 
Valley, Oak and Elm Streets. Boston had a Syrian 
district with 3,000 inhabitants. Pittsburgh had 2,500, 
and St. Louis was fifth with 1,500. The war conditions, 
however, have played havoc with all statistics. A 
glance over the Syrian business directory will show 
that Syrians are scattered over the whole area of the 
United States. With one exception, every State 
reports some residents. Delaware alone has no Syrian 
establishment of any kind. The numbers range from 
23,000 in New York and 16,300 in Pennsylvania to 
15 in Idaho and 3 in Nevada. Dean Kerbawy esti- 
mates the Syrian population of the United States at 
no less than 100,000. There is a wide range of 
economic activity. The business directory shows 
Syrian mechanics, barbers, photographers, dry goods 
merchants, jewelers, dealers in "notions," kimonos, 
laces, silks and rugs ; keepers of restaurants, pool- 
rooms, dentists, doctors, interpreters, tobacconists, etc. 
Throughout the war, the Syrians showed a spirit 
of the utmost loyalty to their adopted country. In 
Brooklyn, especially, the members of the Syrian com- 
munity were active workers in the Red Cross and 
Thrift Stamp drives, to an extent unsurpassed by any 
other racial group. 

The Syrian Orthodox Church 

The Syrian Orthodox Church is part of the Eastern 
Communion to which the Greeks belong, and possesses 
the same ritual and doctrine, though there is a strong 




SYRIAN CATHEDRAL OF ST. NICHOLAS, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 



From the Near East 

anti-Hellenic sentiment in the Syrian Church, which 
finds expression in a leaning toward and a dependence 
on the Russian Church. 

In the year 1895, after a few fruitless attempts on 
the part of the Syrians in America to provide for 
Syrian and definite ecclesiastical organization, the 
Russian Holy Synod of Russia, at their request, 

sent a commissioner in the person of the Rev. Raphael 
Hawaweeny, formerly under the Patriarch of Antioch, 
but later transferred to the jurisdiction of the Russian 
Church. He arrived in New York in October, 1895, 
and began holding Services at 77 Washington Street, 
Manhattan, in the Syrian quarter, but soon transferred 
his activity to lower Brooklyn whither the stream of 
immigration was steadily flowing. His labors met 
with great success, and he was soon enabled to pur- 
chase a church building from a Swedish congregation 
on Pacific Street near Hoyt. He was consecrated 
Bishop Suffragan to the Russian Archbishop in New 
York, with charge of the Syrian Mission. In 1910 he 
attended our General Convention in Cincinnati, and 
was introduced to the House of Bishops by the Bishop 
of Harrisburg. 

Bishop Raphael was a master-builder. He laid 
strong enduring foundations, gathering a large con- 
stituency and acquiring valuable property for the con- 
gregation. He was a man of wide education and keen 
intelligence, a master of many languages. He pos- 
sessed rare gifts of administration, and was unselfishly 
devoted to the spiritual and material welfare of his 
people. His death, in 1915, deprived the Syrian 
Church of a strong leader. 

63 



Neighbors 

He was succeeded by his co-worker, in America, 
the Rt, Rev. Aftimius, consecrated Bishop of Brook- 
lyn in 1917, under the jurisdiction of the Russian 
Church.* At the time of the selection of Bishop Afti- 
mius an unfortunate dissension occurred. Some ob- 
jected to the Russian jurisdiction, withdrew from St. 
Nicholas, and organized an independent congregation 
under the name "St. Mary's Antiochean Syrian Con- 
gregation." They have placed themselves under Arch- 
bishop Germanos of Selefkias, who happens to be in 
this country representing the Patriarch of Antioch. 
This congregation is meeting in rented quarters at the 
corner of State Street and Boerum Place in Brooklyn. 
It is impossible to predict what will be the outcome of 
this movement which unhappily divides the Syrian 
Orthodox Church. 

The Orthodox Church has had the advantage from 

the outset of a systematic organization. Bishop 

Raphael's administration gave it a care- 

Organisation fuUy ordered arran g e m € nt. In this it 

presents a striking contrast to the Greek Church in 
America. Among the Syrians the lay element is 
under careful control, and the priests are subject to 
episcopal supervision. Numerically the Syrian Or- 
thodox is much smaller than the Greek, and its 
churches are unpretentious. The priests have spirit- 
ual oversight of very wide areas. An illustration 
comes from Eastern Oklahoma where our Archdeacon 
reports that the only foreigners brought into any kind 
of touch with him are some Syrians in the oil towns 
who for the most part speak English, and are looked 

*For list of Syrian Orthodox priests see Appendix, Note H. 
64 



From the Near East 

after in some fashion by their own priests who make 

occasional visitations to the oil fields. A number of 

their children belong to our Sunday Schools. 

The difficulty of an effective pastoral oversight at 

long range is apparent, and becomes a matter of 

serious concern in relation to the 

Lack of over- children who are deprived of the op- 
sight . . . . 

portunity of growing up in loyalty to 

and with intelligent understanding of the Services 
of their own Church. This situation presents one of 
the gravest difficulties which the Syrians must face. 
The future of their Church in America is closely re- 
lated to its solution. The problem is especially acute 
among the Syrians, since the Syrian Church is weak 
along educational lines and lacks men and women who 
are equipped to develop Sunday Schools or to impart 
any religious training. The clergy appreciate the situa- 
tion and are struggling to meet it, but many of them 
are ultra conservative and do not speak English ; hence 
they are unable to hold the young people who are 
peculiarly enterprising and progressive. It is at this 
point that we can best serve the Syrian immigrant by 
encouraging him in loyalty to his Church. 

The attitude of the Syrians toward the American 

Church is cordial and trustful, so much so that our 

clergy are occasionally asked by a Syrian 

Attitude to- /-v 7 •. • • 

wardAmeri- Orthodox congregation to organize a 

can Church o j <- i 1 <- ^1 

Sunday School for them on our own 
lines. Unfortunately, however, the supply of organiz- 
ing ability does not begin to meet the demand within 
our own Church. Nevertheless opportunities for help- 
ful service do occur. One of our clergy states that 

65 



Neighbors 

a Syrian priest called on him recently to secure as- 
sistance for the musical setting of the Arabic liturgy 
in English. The Service has been translated and is 
being set to the Syrian music, so that at regular times 
the worship will be conducted in the English tongue. 
This will not only be a long step toward holding the 
younger generation born in this country, but it will 
also have a tendency to bring the Syrian Church into 
closer association with American ecclesiastical life. 
In course of time it may be a means of winning back 
Protestant Syrians who have been alienated from their 
ancestral faith through the influence of denominational 
educational work. They have attended the Protestant 
schools in the home-land and have been drawn away 
from the Mother Church, yet their very education fits 
them to render valuable service to the Orthodox Com- 
munion which enshrines such richness of devotional 
life and spiritual treasures that even a Protestant 
Syrian, writing some years ago in the Atlantic Monthly, 
gave emphatic testimony to its power in the un- 
folding of his spiritual life, bearing eloquent witness 
to the great debt he owed to the Faith in which he 
was nurtured as a child. 

While the friction between Syrian and Greek 
branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church, often be- 
comes acute even in the home-land, and 
is frequently visible here, the relations 
between the Syrian and the Russian Churches are 
sympathetic and intimate. Both of them regard the 
American Church with friendliness, and Bishop Af- 
timius has openly expressed the hope that our 
Churches may come into close and cordial relations. 

66 



From the Near East 

The Episcopal Church has the opportunity of being 
"big brother" to the Syrian Orthodox in its new home 
in America. Bishop Parker of New Hampshire has 
extended a friendly hand by securing scholarships in 
his school for Syrian lads, and by using his influence 
to provide religious ministrations for Syrian Orthodox 
in the Army. Incidentally, a large number of Syrians 
have been among Uncle Sam's fighting forces. The 
founding of a few scholarships for Syrian boys and 
girls in our Church schools is one of the first steps 
we ought to take to help the Syrian Church. Working 
along these lines and wholeheartedly endeavoring to 
strengthen the Syrians in loyal adherence to their 
Mother Church, we have a large and effectual door 
of opportunity among these interesting and picturesque 
immigrants from our Lord's home-land. 

The Assyrian-N estorians 

The Assyrians, part of whom are commonly known 
as Nestorians, are a courageous, hardy people, in- 
inhabiting the mountainous regions of 
Turkey and Persia. They have recently 
come into prominent notice through the visit of Paul 
Shimmon, representative of the Patriach, who came 
to this country in order to arouse Christian sympathy 
for his people in their unparalleled sufferings at the 
hands of the Turks during the war. Once great and 
powerful, the Nestorian Church, driven into exile in 
Persia during the fifth century by the Orthodox 
Church, developed an extraordinary measure of mis- 
sionary zeal. Not only the whole of Persia, but India 

67 



Neighbors 

as well, felt their influence. Thence they pushed east- 
ward to the very centre of China, where evidence of 
their labors exists today in the form of a tablet in- 
scribed with an abstract of Christian doctrine written 
in Chinese and Syriac. In India the Nestorian mis- 
sionaries met with great success, the results of which, 
though in modified form, are still to be seen in the 
Indian Syrian Church of Malabar and Ceylon. 

In their own land, for 700 years, the Nestorians 
have suffered destructive persecution, until at the pres- 
ftQssions to the ent t * me tn eir numbers are sadly reduced. 
Nestorians Our interest in them should be stimu- 

lated, not only by reason of their sufferings, but 
chiefly by the fact that in recent years they have 
appealed strongly to the missionary enterprise of 
Christendom. The American Presbyterian Mission at 
Urumia, Persia, proved a bulwark of defense for these 
unfortunate people during the war, although, re- 
ligiously, it has succeeded only in forming a Protes- 
tant community. Since 1886 the Church of England 
has had a mission in Urumia, established "with the 
knowledge and blessing of the Catholic Patriarch of 
Antioch," and having as its express purpose "the 
strengthening of an ancient Church." The present 
Patriarch was educated in the Anglican school at 
Urumia, and the mission further assisted the Nestorian 
Church by putting its liturgy, (hitherto used only in 
manuscript), into printed form. 

In 1907 Bishop Collins of Gibraltar paid a visit 
to Mar Shimun, the martyred Patriarch, and the 
story of his journey is one of the most fascinating 
chapters in missionary annals. He commends the 

68 



From the Near East 

naturalness, simplicity and spontaneity of the Nes- 
torians' religious faith which reproduces the life and 
spirit of the early Christians. Mar Shimun received 
Bishop Collins with great cordiality. The patriarchial 
church building is described as a dark square edifice, 
built of large stones with only one little window and 
a roof of stone supported on two round arches. The 
graves of a dozen former Patriarchs are built into 
the walls. A ladder leads up into the baptistery. The 
chancel recess is covered by a curtain, and there is 
a vestry with an oven for baking the holy loaf, the 
preparation of the eucharistic bread being a matter 
of great care, since Nestorian tradition asserts that the 
leaven used has been in continuous and successive 
use since the night of the Last Supper., The Cross 
is greatly venerated (a striking fact when seen in 
the light of the constant persecution to which the 
Nestorians have been subjected), but the churches 
contain no ikons or other religious pictures. Mar 
Shimun said that he hoped for a closer unity with the 
Anglican Church, but was sure that his people were 
not ready yet. The difficulty was not in any particular 
doctrines or practices, but simply in the fact of un- 
familiarity and lack of mutual intercourse. 

Although there are about 5,000 of these East Syr- 
ians, or Nestorians, in the United States, they have 
had only a local prominence in American 

In America _ . , . 

Church life, but the experience of the 
Church of England indicates the possibility of a 
very distinct responsibility on the part of the Epis- 
copal Church and a unique opportunity for 
service. There are colonies in New Britain, Conn., 

69 



Neighbors 

Yonkers, N. Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. The principal 
centre, however, is Chicago where there are two or 
three priests. In New Britain, Conn., the Nestorians 
are tinder the pastoral care of the Rev. Simon Yonan. 
The Services are held in St. Mark's Episcopal Church. 
On Easter Day, 1919, at four o'clock in the morning, 
the Sacrament was administered to no less than one 
hundred and eighty persons, some of whom had come 
from as far as Elizabeth, N. J. and Boston, Mass., in 
order to be present. This is a good illustration of the 
faithfulness of the Nestorians to their Church. A large 
number of Assyrians in Yonkers have, since 1903, held 
Services, at first in St. Andrew's Church and later in 
St. John's, where the Rev. Isaac Yohannan, a priest 
of our Church, ministers to them, using the Book of 
Common Prayer. 

Assyrian Jacobites 

The Church in Syria, as a whole, always possessed 
a marked individuality. Geographically it was sep- 
. _, . arated from the rest of Christendom. 

A Divergent 

Group Politically it was outside the Byzantine 

Empire, the capital of which was Byzantium — the 
modern Constantinople. Its language kept it apart 
from the Greek world. Under such circumstances one 
would have supposed that unity would be its marked 
characteristic. On the contrary, however, it seems 
always to have lacked cohesion, and, as we have seen, 
to have had a divisive tendency, which has resulted 
in numerous separate ecclesiastical organizations. One 
of these we have just considered. Another should be 
noted, since it includes an appreciable part of our 

70 



From the Near East 

Syrian immigration. These are the Assyrian Jacobites, 
so named after their founder, a Bishop of Edessa in 
the sixth century, Jacob Baradaeus by name. He was 
a picturesque figure, described as fleet of foot, tem- 
perate, shunning no hardship, full of missionary zeal. 
Dressed in tattered garments, with the appearance of 
a beggar, he travelled throughout Asia Minor and 
Egypt for a period of forty years, gathering followers, 
organizing congregations, consecrating Bishops, or- 
daining minor clergy. With apostolic zeal he labored 
by day and travelled by night, and with such effect 
that his teaching swept over Syria and Mesopotamia, 
and indeed, became the foundation of the National 
Church of Syria.* Of this great movement, however, 
but scanty remnants exist today, their number being 
estimated at 80,000. Bishop Jacob assumed the favor- 
ite title "Patriarch of Antioch" (a title, we note, al- 
ways claimed by the head of every independent Syrian 
Church), and adopted the name of the martyred 
Bishop Ignatius, a name similarly adopted by all of his 
successors. 

The Jacobites use the old Syriac language in their 
Church Services, although it is now practically ob- 
solete as a spoken language, having been superseded in 
popular use by Arabic. The Jacobites use leavened 
bread in the Eucharist, mixed with salt and oil. At 
each making of dough, a small piece is set aside and 
mixed with the next making, so that the continuity 
of the Eucharist is emphasized by the unity of the 



*Baradaeus taught the Monophysite heresy that Our Lord 
possessed only one composite nature. The Nestorians hold 
that He had two distinct and separate natures. 

71 



Neighbors 

bread. They administer Communion in both kinds. 
They venerate pictures and images. They make the 
sign of the Cross with one ringer to show, that ac- 
cording to their teaching, Christ had but one nature. 

In July, 1841, the Rev. Horatio Southgate, a priest 
of the American Church, afterward consecrated Mis- 
a visit to the sionar y Bishop of Constantinople, paid 
Jacobites a visit to the Jacobite patriarch at the 

monastery of Der-el-Zafaran. He remained a fort- 
night as his guest. Mr. Southgate went as representa- 
tive of the foreign committee of our Board of Mis- 
sions. He started abroad in 1836, receiving his final 
instruction at a public meeting held in the Church 
of the Ascension, New York, on Easter Day. In 
the course of his travels he came into personal rela- 
tions with representatives of the Greek, Armenian, 
Nestorian and Jacobite Churches. This was perhaps 
the earliest instance of contact between the ancient 
Syrian Church and the West. The primitive character 
of the life of the Jacobite Patriarch may be inferred 
from this entry in Mr. Southgate's diary, "The 
Patriarch was engaged all morning in superintending 
the threshing and winnowing of the wheat." 

Jacobites have been coming to the United States 
a few at a time for the past twenty-five years. Many 
. MJ , find employment as silk weavers. In 

Jacobites in r J 

the u.s. New England they are represented in 

various trades. There are more than a thousand 
scattered through New Jersey. In Paterson there 
are about fifty families, and in West Hoboken the same 
number. At College Point, Long Island, there are 
ten families; in Worcester, Mass., there are about a 

72 



From the Near East 

hundred families; in Boston sixty and in Fitchburg 
thirty; in Central Falls, R. I., there are forty families. 

In this latter place they worship in a small building, 
and Bishop Perry speaks of them as, "earnest, self 
sacrificing, well versed in their liturgy and loyal to 
their traditions." 

There is only one Jacobite priest in the United 
States — the Rev. Hanna Koorie, of Paterson, N. J. 
He gathers his congregation occasionally in St. Luke's 
Church, South Paterson. He struggles heroically to 
minister to his people scattered as they are over a wide 
area, as far away as Michigan. The Jacobites have no 
church building in the United States, but land has 
recently been secured at 550 Clinton Avenue, West 
Hoboken, New Jersey, and the congregation has been 
incorporated under the title "Assyrian Jacobite Apos- 
tolic Church of St. Mary the Virgin." Father Koorie 
was ordained in Jerusalem and displays his letters 
of ordination in four different languages. He is 
untiring in his devotion to his people and most un- 
selfish and indefatigable. He is under the jurisdiction 
of the Patriarch Mar Ignatius Elias, who lives at 
Mardin, Turkey in Asia. 

Protestant Syrians 

For nearly a century the Mission Boards of various 
Protestant bodies have carried on work throughout 
the Near East among the Syrians. Educational in- 
stitutions of a high order have been founded. Native 
Christians have sought the opportunities offered by 
these schools. Some have been won away from their 
ancient faith, and have attached themselves to inde- 

73 



Neighbors 

pendent Protestant congregations that have been 
organized among them. 

The relations between the ancient Churches and the 
American Protestant Missions have brought about a 
very delicate situation. The extreme Protestant point 
of view does not always take sufficient account of 
ancient and traditional forms of religion, nor is it in 
natural accord and sympathy with the intricate organi- 
zation of the Eastern ecclesiastical system, and its 
elaborate liturgical customs. "It became evident," 
says a Protestant writer of our day, "that the Greek 
nation was not ready to welcome the Gospel!" He 
meant that Greece was not hospitable to American 
Protestant missionary endeavors. The average Ori- 
ental, on the other hand, believes that the Protestant 
missionary can add nothing to what he already pos- 
sesses in the Orthodox Church. The result of Prot- 
estant work in Syria has been the organization of 
native Protestant congregations. From these a goodly 
percentage of our Syrian immigrants are recruited. 
They have learned English in the Mission Schools ; 
they have become acquainted with American teachers ; 
they join the procession of those who are seeking their 
fortunes in the new land. Thus we shall find Syrian 
Protestants in our Syrian settlements, and definite 
religious work amongst them in many places. 

Individual Protestant Syrians often find their way 
into the Episcopal Church, and become attached to 
An o or- our hturgical forms and rich sacramental 
tunity life. An illustration came to hand while 

the present writer was preparing this chapter., A ring 
at the doorbell brought a couple of Syrians to be 

74 



From the Near East 

married. The bride was of the Orthodox Church, the 
groom was a young Syrian from Woonsocket, R. I., 
a member of our Communion, very staunch, and in- 
sisting on our Prayer Book rite. He had found his 
way into the Episcopal Church from one of the Protes- 
tant bodies. There are frequent instances of this 
kind. 

Our Church has carefully avoided any effort to 
proselytize the Syrian population. In Providence, 
R. I., there is a congregation known as the "Old Syrian 
Church," with which the Episcopal Church has in- 
timate relations, but no official connection. Bishop 
Perry says that "religious work among the Syrians 
presents a complicated problem, and one that requires 
much care and patience. The deeper one goes into it, 
the more difficult are the problems arising from the 
longstanding divisions between Uniats, Maronites, Or- 
thodox, etc." Perhaps one of the best contributions 
which our Church can make toward the solution of 
the problem is to bring about an intelligent apprecia- 
tion of the Eastern Churches. Oppressed, impover- 
ished, uneducated, these Churches have survived, and 
have rooted themselves so deeply in the life, affection 
and convictions of the people, that thousands have 
heroically faced persecution, torture and death for the 
Faith. The Eastern Christians have never been found 
wanting in fidelity. No one would wish to add a 
Syrian Episcopal Church to the already large list 
of Syrian religious divisions. Rather let us enter 
into helpful relations with the ancient Churches, and 
meet them in a spirit of sympathy, toleration, states- 
manship, and we shall discover the opportunity of an 

75 



Neighbors 

abiding constructive work amongst these people from 
the cradle-land of Christ. 

The Armenians 

Owing probably to the fact that the Armenians are, 
like the Syrians, inhabitants of Asiatic Turkey and 
An a an have also long been the victim of Turk- 

Race ish misrule and oppression, the average 

person usually confuses them with the Syrians or even 
with the Turks. They are, however, an entirely dis- 
tinct race. Of Aryan stock, rather than Semitic like 
the Syrians, they wandered from their original home in 
Thrace, about the year 1300 B.C., crossed the Bos- 
phorus into Bythinia, pushed eastward into Cappadocia 
and Cilicia, and in the 8th century B.C. settled in the 
region about Mount Ararat. Here, at a very early 
date in the Christian era, Christianity took root among 
them. In A.D. 310, Tiridates was converted, and 
Armenia became the first of all countries to establish 
Christianity as the national religion. Its Bishops were 
present at the first great Council of the Church at 
Nicaea in the year 325, but in the middle of the fifth 
century, the Armenian Church, refusing to accept the 
decrees of the Council of Chalcedon, separated itself 
from the rest of the Church and established itself as 
a distinct national body under the title Gregorian* 
The ecclesiastical head of the Armenians is a Cathol- 
icos, whose residence, since the year 1441, has been at 
Etchmiadzin, a town thirty-five miles north of Ararat. 



*There is now on foot a movement looking toward the re- 
union of the Armenian Church with the Eastern Orthodox. 

76 




V ART AN, AN ARMENIAN BOY 
Courtesy of Men and Missions 




BENJAMIN MAR SHIMUN 

MARTYRED PATRIARCH OF THE 

NESTORIAN CHURCH 



From the Near East 

Armenia has been the unhappy football of nations. 
It is a borderland, a buffer State, which, up to the 
a Persecuted ^ mQ °^ ^e recent war, was partitioned 
Race between Persia, Turkey and Russia. The 

attitude of Persia toward the Armenians was one of 
indifferent neutrality ; Russia would have protected 
them had she been permitted; the Turks have always 
been their relentless foes and persecutors. From 1878 
until 189(f massacre followed massacre. There was 
presented to our General Convention, meeting in St. 
Louis, a pathetic appeal from the Armenian Patriarch : 
"Oh, my beloved brethren in Christ Jesus, do not 
permit the extermination of the Armenian people at 
the hands of the Moslem." From 1894 to 1896 perse- 
cution reached its climax. The Turks slaughtered the 
people with joy. "Down with the Armenians !", was 
the cry. Children were brutally murdered before the 
eyes of their parents. Men were hunted like wild 
animals — beaten, tortured, burned. Of their churches, 
five hundred and sixty-eight were destroyed ; two 
hundred and eighty-two were turned into mosques ; 
eighty-eight thousand persons were slain ; five hundred 
thousand were robbed; one hundred and seventy-five 
Gregorian priests and twenty-five Armenian Protes- 
tant ministers were killed. The heroism and fidelity of 
the people were marvelous. They were martyrs for 
Christ and nothing could induce them to deny the Faith. 

In 1899 the Armenian Patriarch, Khorene, sent a 
letter to Bishop Potter of New York expressing ap- 
our spiritual preciation of the interest of the Epis- 
Kin copal Church in the Armenian immi- 

grants. From the outset our Church had recognized 

77 



Neighbors 

a protective responsibility toward these people, owing 
to the close resemblance between the Armenian Church 
and our own. It belongs to the general family of 
Eastern churches, and although not in communion with 
the Orthodox, the differences are not great.* The 
letter of the Armenian prelate attracted considerable 
interest, and a facsimile was reproduced at the time 
in The Churchman. Armenians were freely offered 
the use of our churches for their Services. 

A considerable colony has grown up in the vicinity 
of East 27th Street and 2nd Avenue, New York. One 
Armenians in notes the signs on stores and restaurants 
the u.s. m Armenian characters. The "Ararat 

Restaurant" is marked by a great colored picture of 
Mount Ararat which none can mistake. One might 
almost expect to find Noah as host! The "Arax" 
Hand Laundry bears reminiscence of the Armenian 
River Araxes which flows through the Armenian 
kingdom. 

On East 27th Street is the temporary meeting place 
of the Gregorian congregation in an old Methodist 
Church. The Armenian Christmas falls on our Janu- 
ary 19th, and last year the Bishop of New Hampshire 
attended the Services and delivered an address. Of 
this Service, with the use of cymbals in the music, the 
Bishop writes, "The 150th Psalm with its 'loud cym- 
bals' is for all time associated with our visit to the 
Armenian Church." 



*In this connection it may be of interest to note that the 
Eastern Orthodox make the sign of the cross with three 
fingers, from forehead to breast, and from right shoulder to 
left ; the Armenians make it with three fingers, but from left 
shoulder to right; the Syrian Jacobites make it with only 
one finger. In the Roman Catholic Church the order is, 
forehead to breast, left shoulder to right. 

78 



From the Near East 

The total number of Armenians in the United 
States is estimated at 120,000, and they are widely 
scattered. There are about one hundred large settle- 
ments. Boston has ten thousand Armenian residents. 
New York has eight thousand ; Providence five thous- 
and; Detroit four thousand. In the Eastern and 
Middle Western States they are mostly factory opera- 
tives, but in most of our large cities will be found 
Armenians engaged in business as importers and ex- 
porters, grocers, dealers in dry goods, confectionery, 
etc., as well as members of various professions — physi- 
cians, lawyers, artists, teachers. 

On our West coast are large and permanent Ar- 
menian communities attracted by the agricultural op- 
K«ii ion portunities presented. The Bishop of 

Affiliations San Joaquin states that there are ap- 

proximately 8,000 Armenians in California, of whom 
about 6,000 are located in Fresno County where they 
are prosperous fruit-growers. Ecclesiastically they 
are divided among the Orthodox Church, the Pres- 
byterian, and the Congregational. The Protestant 
congregations, which are large and self-supporting, 
with native pastors, had their origin in Armenia where 
the people were reached by missionaries prior to their 
emigration. Bishop Sanford further writes that the 
relations between the Orthodox Armenians and the 
Episcopal Church are very friendly. The use of our 
churches is frequently offered and accepted, and when 
the new Armenian church in Fresno was recently 
consecrated, Bishop Sanford took part in the Service. 
He adds that, while our Church has no work among the 
Armenians in Fresno, individuals are found in our 

79 



Neighbors 

congregations. In the outlying districts, the Orthodox 
Armenians generally use our churches for their Serv- 
ices. 

Mr. Papazian, the Congregational pastor in Fresno, 
is of the opinion that if Armenia is freed from Turkish 
rule, not only will immigration of Armenians be 
greatly decreased, but many Armenians now living in 
the Eastern States under the difficult conditions of 
factory life will return to the Orient. The Armenians 
in California, however, will probably amalgamate with 
our native born citizens. If this estimate of the situa- 
tion prove true, it is evident that our Church on the 
Pacific Coast may have a very great opportunity for 
service. 

Similar conditions prevail elsewhere. Mr. Vahan 
Kirkjian, Vice-President of the Armenian community 
in New York, is authority for the statement that 
about one-tenth of the Armenians in the United States 
belong to the Protestant denominations. The remain- 
der are largely members of the Gregorian Church. 
The Gregorians own buildings in West Hoboken, 
N. J. ; Worcester and Lawrence, Mass. ; Providence, 
R. I., and Philadelphia, Pa. In other large centres, 
Services are regularly held in rented churches or 
halls. In many places there are only occasional Serv- 
ices when a clergyman pays a visit to the colony. 

Our Church aims to stand in a relation of helpful- 
ness to these Armenian brethren, endeavoring to 
strengthen them in their own Church 

Opportunities f , . 

for the Episco- rather than to win them to ours. A 
large congregation holds regular Serv- 
ices in the Church of the Advent, Boston. An- 

80 



From the Near East 

other illustration of our method comes from Camden, 
New Jersey. In the vicinity of St. Stephen's Church, 
there was a colony of 250 Armenians to whom at first 
the rector offered the use of the church for their wor- 
ship. The offer was accepted, with the result that the 
people were kept together and have recently been en- 
abled to organize a congregation for whom the Rev. 
Bedros Vartanian of Philadelphia regularly celebrates 
the Armenian liturgy. Moreover, Armenians have 
received Communion at our Eucharist, and Com- 
munion has been given to our people by the Arme- 
nian priest. Thus Camden gives us a concrete illus- 
tration of Christian unity. 

What Armenia will gain in the reconstruction of 
the Near East, it is impossible to forecast at present. 
Armenia's ^ * s ^y no means improbable, however, 

Future that before these pages are printed the 

Peace Conference may have recognized the justice of 
Armenia's claim for freedom from Ottoman oppres- 
sion. But with what result? For over two centuries 
Armenia has had a close association with Italy and 
the Church of Rome through the remarkable colony 
on the Island of San Lazzaro, near Venice, composed 
of Roman Catholic Armenians, known as Mekhitarists, 
from their learned founder, Mekhitar. While, there- 
fore, Armenians generally recognize that their people 
in the home-land, largely undeveloped and reduced by 
recent persecution from 12,000,000 to barely a quar- 
ter of that number, are not yet ready for self-govern- 
ment, there is some difference of opinion as to the 
most desirable political guardian. The Mekhitarists 
naturally choose Italy, though not objecting to the 

81 



Neighbors 

United States. The Armenian National Council of 
America has recently expressed itself strongly in favor 
of the United States. Whatever be the ultimate de- 
cision, it is fairly safe to predict that, once Armenia 
is delivered from the Ottoman yoke, a large propor- 
tion of the four or five million expatriated Armenians, 
scattered throughout the world, will return to their 
native country. Is there not, in these facts, an incen- 
tive to our Church to bestir herself as never before on 
behalf of the Armenians among us, in order that their 
Church may be strengthened to minister at home to a 
restored and regenerated people? 



Not only with respect to the Armenians, but equally 
regarding all the peoples of the Near East whom we 
a Peculiar have been considering in this chapter, 

Responsibility the members of the Anglican Com- 
munion should feel a peculiar and very urgent respon- 
sibility. For while they may appear to us strange 
and foreign — alien to our traditions and habits of 
thought, yet they are, as a matter of fact, very closely 
akin to us ecclesiastically and spiritually. With few 
exceptions, their Churches, like our own, are members 
of that great branch of the Catholic family, which, 
true to the ancient Faith, rejects the assumption of 
universal authority on the part of any one member. 
In the lands from which come these alien peoples, 
are the well-springs of Christianity. In Syria, Christ 
was born, and there He fulfilled His earthly ministry. 
In Greece, first of European countries, was the Gospel 
preached; the Greek tongue was its original vehicle. 

82 



From the Near East 

These considerations should make us eager to know 
better these people to whom the world in general, 
and we ourselves, in particular, owe so much. It 
should be our earnest desire to come into closer 
touch with them, to discover them in the midst of our 
own communities. The approach is not difficult, when 
there are so many points of contact apart from the 
mere formal relations of employer and employed, of 
seller and buyer. They are kindly in disposition, 
approachable, eager to learn our customs and our 
speech, ready to welcome us in their churches, often 
equally ready to worship with us if invited. In many 
places where they have gathered in appreciable num- 
bers, they have no place of worship of their own, and, 
however devoted personally to their native Church, 
the lack of a common meeting place inevitably tends 
to destroy religious foundations. Herein lies the great 
opportunity of the American Church — not to wean 
them from their own, but to give them a familiar 
basis on which to stand until, possibly, they are able 
to perfect an organization of their own. The Church 
School is an attractive power of very great value, by 
means of which the Greek and Syrian and Armenian 
children may be held during the critical period of 
transition. Every effort should be made to secure 
their attendance and to make them feel at home in 
the school. Such efforts might easily result in the 
adoption, by these Churches, of our own improved 
forms of Church Schools and methods of religious 
training — a result eagerly to be desired. 

The aim of this chapter has been to provide, in 
mere outline, an account of these, our neighbors, in 

83 



Neighbors 

order to stimulate the reader to fill in the details him- 
self by reading, study, and above all, by personal 
contact with his neighbors of various races. If one is 
alert, he will constantly find sources of information 
in current magazines and even in the daily press. 
Thus, for example, the Boston Transcript of Feb- 
ruary 28, 1903, contained a delightfully graphic de- 
scription of the Syrians in Boston ; while the National 
Geographic Magazine recently presented a most illumi- 
nating article on the peoples of the Near East.* If 
our eyes are open and our minds hospitable, it will 
not be long before we see and make use of the abun- 
dant opportunities for mutually helpful intercourse 
with our spiritual kindred from the Near East. 



*The Races of Europe. National Geographic Magazine, 
December, 1918. 



84 



CHAPTER IV 
OUR ITALIAN NEIGHBORS 

Books on immigration divide into chapters, and we 
may read under separate heads all about the many 
a com iex aspects of the problem ; but the life about 
Problem us h as n0 divisions. Our experiences on 

the street do not come to us classified, and our oppor- 
tunities as we go among these strangers are never 
labelled. If our opportunities could speak out loud 
as they touch us, we would be more quick to seize 
them, more eager not to lose their meaning. In grap- 
pling with this problem, in great part our difficulty 
lies in the mix and tangle of the many elements in- 
volved in the movement of the people of an older 
world and often of less advanced civilizations, into a 
world emphasizing in new ways their ideals. 

A situation so complex must be taken hold of wher- 
ever it can be. We must go close and face it down 
as the old knights did. The more afraid they had 
reason to be, the greater boldness they showed in get- 
ting close to their dragon. Whether we are consider- 
ing the perplexities of the immigrant problem itself, 
or the difficulties involved in our own relations with 
these newcomers, the whole thing resolves itself if we 
are close enough to find it human. The human beings 
within it — the little girl, the boy his mother cannot 

85 



Neighbors 

control, the sick baby — these are our handles to open 
the door of opportunity. One family within itself 
may manifest the entire complexity of what we face ; 
and within their relations with us, may lie the solu- 
tion. 

Their Land, Italia 

The land from which the Italians come to us is not 
the Italy of the tourist, nor even of those who know 
Italy well through much travel there. Nor is it the 
Italy of great cities, famous for learning and for 
beauty in all its forms. It is a hidden Italy of small 
towns and mountain villages in the southern provinces, 
and from these places have come thousands who have 
led hidden lives far from cities and travelled roads. 
Basilicata, Avellino, Caserta, Caltanesetta, these names 
are on the tongue of the immigrant. A look at the 
map shows their home provinces. The greater number 
of Italians who have come to us are from the Abruzzi 
and Molise, Puglie, Sannio, Campania, Cilento, Basili- 
cata, Calabria and Sicilia. Out of these provinces 
have come to us a simple people, speaking their own 
dialect; bringing with them customs, ages old; unac- 
quainted with a way of life other than their own. 
Daring to come far, and eager for the better life they 
have heard of, they come out of a great past, their 
lives rooted in a tradition that strongly holds them; 
the younger among them turning from it toward the 
new life, the older not knowing how to take hold of 
the new. A brave adventure, indeed, to come from 
such isolation into our industrial civilization, the most 
complex the world has known. The greater number 

86 



Our Italian Neighbors 

come to us from a manner of life so different from 
our accustomed way of living, that it is truly a step- 
ping from the Middle Ages into modern life. 

Said one young Italian referring to his wife's par- 
ents, "Her father and mother came from a little coun- 
try (paese. meaning village) so near the 

Isolation. .. , r r .1 j .1 

Dialects. The little country of my father and mother 
that you can hear the people talking, 

but they can't understand each other." This is the 

Middle Ages. It means isolation, content with the 

usual, resistance to what is unknown, and, strongest 

of all, fear of the stranger. 

During our stay in Amain, we noticed a house 

overhanging the highroad from Sorrento, with two 
beautiful girls always in the window. 

Ancient Our landlord, the Sindaco of the town, 

Custom i-ii 1 

explained that they never went out. 
Italian girls of breeding go out on the street rarely, 
and then accompanied by their mother. In this coun- 
try recently I was asked to the wedding of an Italian 
girj who had been educated in our schools, and had 
even worked in our factories. A week after the wed- 
ding she called to me from a window of a tenement, 
her new home, but when asked to come down, she 
shook her head. "I can't go out for two weeks," she 
said. "Albina, my sister, is with me, and she or my 
mother must be with me all the time for two weeks „ 
excepting when my husband is at home." The matter- 
of-course calmness with which Milly accepted this 
restriction showed how a daughter of an Italian home, 
Americanized as she seemed to be, dwelt still, within 
her own home at least, in the very heart of ancient 

87 



Neighbors 

custom. Not only her mother and her grandmother, 
but she herself, took it for granted. 

Most of these people have not our standards, nor our 
intellectual background. This we must face, and we 
must face it with them. As we face it, how interesting 
to find a bit of the Middle Ages close at hand ; to turn 
to an historical document which is alive; to see a 
mediaeval mother striving to hold her girls to thej 
standards of five hundreds years ago! Here is food 
for our intelligence. If we can take that dose and 
assimilate it, it may give us the liberal mind more 
truly than a university degree with its rights and 
privileges the same throughout the world. Common 
life awaits the liberal mind, and is willing to be 
moulded by it. Impatience never moulds. To see 
these people as they are, to appreciate and to accept 
their contribution to our life, means the beginning of 
our profit. What they have to give, only He knows 
who made them and gave them priceless gifts. In 
entering into right relations with them, we feel the 
difficulties and our failure. But one great starry fact 
we may hold to : humility never fails ; Christianity 
never fails. 

Immigration 

Each of the countries making up the United King- 
dom of Italy has its own rich tradition of the past ; but 
why They Italy as a modern united kingdom is not 

come y et fifty years old. On the 20th of Sep- 

tember, 1870, Italian troops marched into Rome 
through a breach in the walls, so it is less than fifty 
years that Italy, as a united kingdom, has been grap- 

88 



Our Italian Neighbors 

pling with the problems of poverty, and of educational 
and industrial life. 

The real cause of her people coming to us lies neither 
in Italy nor in America, but in economic relations 
between the countries. The countries of the world are 
bound together by profound economic laws which be- 
come plain as civilization progresses. The very 
security of civilization depends upon its being in 
accord with these fundamental laws which govern the 
well-being of mankind. 

All the great critical periods in European history 
have sent us immigrants who came for freedom. We 
know now, that no form of freedom has been wholly 
won, and we are realizing more than ever before in 
the world's history that the welfare of a people rests 
in economic freedom — freedom to live well. In this 
new age of world unity and world freedom, eco- 
nomic freedom means being free to seek the right sort 
of a life. If the people of one nation do not get what 
they believe they should have, they will go where they 
believe it is to be found. The simplicity with which 
Italians enter upon this great adventure of coming out 
of a primitive environment into so highly developed a 
civilization as our own, is no less amazing than the 
vast number who trust their future to a new land. 
Each one who comes calls another; so literally that 
they use the phrase in speaking of their coming, "My 
brother called me." 

From the ancient sea-port town of Amalfi so many 
have come to New Haven, in Connecticut, that there 
the festa of San Andrea (St. Andrew) is kept every 

89 



Neighbors 

year with much the same ceremony as on the sands of 
Amalfi. 

In Newport, R. L, a hard-working and prosperous 
tailor said, "I was the first Italian boy in Newport. 
My uncle was here and he called me. I came on a boat 
with a compaesano and I stayed in New York three 
days with him, and they put me on a boat and I came 
to Newport, and my uncle taught me this trade. But 
I don't speak English good ; I didn't go to school." 

A story even more touching in its simplicity is that 
of a woman brought by her mother sixty years ago. 
They were among the small group of immigrants who 
came about the middle of the last century from the 
little towns about Genoa. Her mother, she said, had 
to work too hard because the father had been hurt by 
a fall from a fruit tree. "He had a little farm and 
after he was hurt, he couldn't work no more; so my 
mother sold my oldest brother to one of those men who 
came around in those days with a hand-organ and a 
monkey. He took my brother to England, and my 
mother had letters from him, and after a while she 
didn't have no more letters, so she took us and my 
father and came to America. She didn't know the 
difference between England and America." 

These simple people scarcely know their own land. 
Their touching ignorance of what Italy means to the 
world, keeps their own children unaware of their 
inheritance, and this is the more real as they become 
aware of the aloofness of the people of their chosen 
country. Said one young girl, "My mother says Italy 
is a nice country, full of flowers and fruits. Is it?" 
She had never heard that Italy is "the garden of the 

90 




IN THE ROUGH 




BHHHmBRHBBH 
THE FINISHED PRODUCT 



Our Italian Neighbors 

world, the home of all art yields." Another Italian 
girl said, "Have you been to Italy? Oh, have you, 
though? My mother says it is nice there, but I 
couldn't believe it." "Why couldn't you believe it, 
Mary?" we asked. "Oh, Americans don't like Italians, 
and I thought it must be the country isn't nice." 

The question, "Why did you come to America?" 
brings an answer which varies little. "Per vivere 
bene," they reply simply, — "To live well." 

Partly it is an eager coming of young men — giovani 
— for something better, to an unknown land — a prom- 
Amaifi * se( ^ ^ an d '■> partly it is the serious coming 

Fishermen f t h e older men who want their children 

to live right, to have what they themselves have not 
had. Perche? Per vivere bene! — Why is it? To live 
well; for that only. In the seaport town of Amain one 
hears the calls of the fishermen rowing home in the 
early morning. Fifteen years ago, when immigration 
was at its height, they were making one lira (20c.) for 
the whole night's labor. The women, with loads of 
building-stone on their heads, toiling all day up and 
down the steep hillside, were making half a lira. The 
desire to make a better living is an economic reason, 
but not an unworthy one. Our economic state shapes 
our life. Upon our well-being and the well-being of 
our community, hangs the whole of our enjoyment and 
our attainment. The common weal is the concern of 
civilization. To desire to live well — to risk all for it 
— that is the courage of the immigrant ; to go after it, 
that is the determination of the immigrant. The sweep 
of this resolute courage has made America what it is, 
and even now is making it what it is to be. 

91 



Neighbors 

The Land of Opportunity — America 

During the '80s, the Italians came fast to this coun- 
try, and during the '90s faster still. During the first 
Time of decade of 1900 immigration increased, 

coming until, by 1910, immigrants came a million 

a year, nearly one-fourth of them Italian. Immigra- 
tion had become the adventure of a race. In 1914, 
the Great War first checked immigration, then made 
it practically cease, so that we are realizing now as 
never before, our dependence on this labor which has 
underlain our prosperity. We needed many to do 
our work: many came to find the work 

Number J 

that would enable them to make a 
living. It is an economic give and take, both receiv- 
ing and both giving. We wanted the work done, 
but we were not thinking much about the human 
beings who were doing it. Now, in the pause which 
the Great War has made, we have a chance to think 
more about the human beings involved , who they 
are and where they live, the meaning of our national 
life to them. President Wilson, in his Inaugural 
Address said, "We have been proud of our industrial 
achievements, but we have not hitherto stopped 
thoughtfully enough to count the human cost, the cost 
of lives snuffed out, of energies overtaxed and broken, 
the fearful physical and spiritual cost to the men and 
women and children upon whom the dead weight and 
burden of it all has fallen pitilessly the years through. 
The groans and agony of it all have not reached our 
ears ; the solemn, moving undertone of our lives, com- 
ing up out of the mines and factories and out of every 

92 



Our Italian Neighbors 

home where the struggle has its intimate and familiar 
seat." 

The village of Westfield, in New York, illustrates, 
in the small, what has happened during the last quarter 
of a century. About 1895 the first Ital- 
settiementin ian came — Allessandro Gentile from Ca- 
labria. Everybody called him Tony. 
He was flagman on the Lake Shore track for years, 
faithful and always smiling. After a while he 
brought his family over, and his boys and girls grew 
up in our public schools, friends with the other boys 
and girls. A little later, Sicilians began coming into 
Westfield, at first from Buffalo, the largest town near, 
then directly from their own villages, Vicari and Valle- 
dolmo, in the province of Palermo. Neighbors over 
there are neighbors here. There was a bridge to be 
built, a trolley over the hills, a railroad 

Their Labor _, i *- « * n 

to Chautauqua, and finally the trolley 
along the Lake Shore, connecting Cleveland and Buf- 
falo. These different works of construction brought 
gangs of laborers who lived along the track in box- 
cars, scarcely noticed by the village, as they put through 
the work which was to mean so much to its people. 
Meanwhile the permanent colony grew. By 1908, it 
was established, not in any sense a part of the social 
life of the town, but an important part of its economic 
life. Westfield belongs to the Grape Belt. The Italians 
themselves have bought vineyards, and they have trans- 
formed the part of town near the tracks, which was 
part dump and part marsh and could be bought up 
cheap, until now it consists of paved streets of shining 
pink and blue houses, built by themselves, and em- 

93 



Neighbors 

bowered in green, flowers, vegetables and fruit-trees. 
In a village they more easily get hold of land, but 
everywhere they make chances to cultivate the soil. 
The early Spring takes them from the city to the 
country, even if it is only for their one free day, Sun- 
day. In Providence, R. L, the early Sunday morning 
trolleys are boarded by hundreds of Italians, carrying 
garden tools, potatoes for seed, baskets full of food 
for the day. Many of the more prosperous ones have 
their own automobiles, and carry the whole family out 
for Sunday. As soon as they can afford to do so, they 
build a little shack on the land, and the younger men 
spend nights there. In Buffalo, hundreds of tenements 
in the Italian quarter are padlocked during the sum- 
mer, because the whole family has gone to one of the 
Lake Shore towns for work on farm or in cannery. 
They do not give up their city home, but return for 
work in factories or other inside labor in the winter. 
The social instinct is strong, and they succeed well 
in agriculture when they live close together and raise 
crops which require hand labor. They have success in 
truck and vegetable gardening where they can have 
both land and neighbors. 

The cost of their work has been high. It has been 
such a giving up as only helplessness knows. In one 
The co»t of °f ^ e fl°°d years of immigration, two 
their Labor prosperous young fellows, leaders of the 
younger Italians of Cleveland, returning from a dance 
in the early morning, saw, through the open windows, 
a room full of very recent immigrants. To each one 
in turn, sitting on the edge of his narrow 
cot, the boss tossed a hunk of bread. It 

94 



Our Italian Neighbors 

was their breakfast, the morning preparation for a day 
of hard work. These men were bordanti, men here 
without their families and living as they could wher- 
ever they could. Such a man would spend on his own 
needs not more than twenty-five cents a day. What 
self-forgetfulness lies in this narrow life, in this severe 
and continuous self-denial! 

In answer to an inquiry for a bordante living in this 
way, the woman with whom he lived, shook her head 
to all questions. She didn't know what 
he did, she didn't know where he worked, 
she didn't know his name. "He go out early, he come 
in late," was the sum of her knowledge of him. Truly 
a touching picture of unremitting industry. This 
severe giving up of the pleasures of life is always to 
accomplish some desired end — to bring their families 
here, or to support them in Italy. As families come, 
there are fewer of these bordanti, and fewer too of the 
casual laborers. It has always been true that the large 
proportion of day laborers was due partly to the great 
numbers of works of construction paying high for 
labor, and partly to the fact that a workman, however 
skilled in his trade, usually cannot work at it where he 
cannot speak the language. Whereas ten years ago, 
unskilled laborers predominated among the incoming 
Italians, at present the greater number of them are 
tradesmen and industrial workers. If present condi- 
tions caused by the war continue, there will be a still 
smaller proportion of laborers among these people. 
The younger men do not become laborers, and future 
immigration is not likely to bring a large number. The 
son of one of these unskilled laborers the other day 

95 



Neighbors 

graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and 
there are hundreds of such instances. Another of 
these laborers who has lived in the United States 
twenty years, is worth twenty thousand dollars and 
all of his children have had a High School education 
and are in trade or in business. 

The cost of all this has been high. Their achieve- 
ments have been won by paying the full price of hard 
work, unremitting industry, thrift. They have paid 
the same price our own fathers paid to win prosperity 
in a new land. 

And they have paid other costs. On the hills above 

Westfield, while the trolley was being constructed, an 

Italian riding on a truck, was killed, 

needlessly. No one knew his name. No 

one knew in what little town in Italy his family would 

be waiting for news. 

One night, on the Lake Shore track, a gang of 
twenty men labored against the storm to keep the ice 
out of the tracks. One of them said afterward, "The 
snow and wind too much, it very dark, an engine come 
quick, and on the track eleven men dead !" 

There are other costs, invisible. An Italian who had 
gotten on well, talking about the common life here, 
compared it with everyday life in Italy. "Niente bel- 
lezza," he said, "Niente divertamente" — nothing of 
beauty, nothing to please and charm, to occupy the 
mind. His fine-looking old mother sat by listening.. 
She could not take part in our talk as she spoke only 
the dialect of her village, but over and over she re- 
peated in a sort of chant, "Ah, bella Cosenza! Ah, 
bella Cosenza!" 

96 



Our Italian Neighbors 

It is not often, however, that one hears expressions 

of regret. The courage which brought 

them stands by, and their appreciation 

of what our country means is genuine. They are loyal 

to their chosen land. 

Upon the older women the great change falls most 
heavily. The men go to work ; they are getting what 
they came for. The children go to 
school; they are getting more than they 
ever dreamed of. The women came to make the home, 
and they are making it as well as they can, just as they 
always have. An old nonna sits at home; the door 
opens, and an American school-boy comes in, in new 
cap and coat, with shining rubbers on his feet — her 
grandson. Whoever heard of rubbers in the Basilicata, 
any more than sinks and inside plumbing! To the 
older people, American shoes and rubbers symbolize 
the happiness and good fortune of their grandchildren ; 
and, so, even with the strangeness, comes content. 

One young Italian, eager for the best this country 

has to give, explained the path of progress. "We go 

to school and we get new ideas, and we 

Their Effort t • i i 1 1 

go home with a schoolmate, and we see 
how Americans live ; then, as we grow older, we wish 
for lives like that, and we impose upon our parents our 
ideas, to leave the old tenement and to go where there 
is more air and light." 

In a Columbus Day parade, a group of Genoese 
marched with two banners: one read, "Columbus, 
our Fellow-Countryman" ; the other, "America, Our 
Chosen Country." 

97 



Neighbors 

Indifference of Americans 

"Perhaps we could get on better if we could speak 
the same language," remarked one American, after an 
effort, through smiles and gestures, to show a foreign 
family living back of her that they mustn't throw rub- 
bish over her fence. She added, "They mean to do 
right, but they don't know what it is." Many an 
American's love for Italy, and his sentiment for the 
gay people of that land, break down before the sight 
and smell of the congested part of our great cities. 
Humanly, we do not touch, and so there result indiffer- 
ence and helpless waste. 

A young girl who, through an American friend, 
found a way through what had seemed insurmountable, 
exclaimed, "We was looking for somebody to tell us 
what to do 1" 

The schools have faced the need because they have 
had to. Our public-school teachers have splendidly 
The Public borne a burden which properly belongs 
school to the whole community. In school, the 

children have found discipline and careful training, but 
even the teacher's patience breaks down before a 
father as untrained as his own child, and a mother 
more ignorant than her children. 

An Italian who had gotten on well in this country 
couldn't sign his name. The American who had asked 
for his signature exclaimed with aston- 
ishment, "Are there then no schools in 
Italy ? Why is it that so many cannot read and write ?" 
The Italian's mortified silence made his daughter 
answer for him, "There was a school there, but there 

98 



Our Italian Neighbors 

was nobody to tell him to go to it." So it is with them 
here. They have come to the land of opportunity be- 
cause they want to live well ; but in their own quarter, 
at work under their own boss, shut up into their own 
dialect, they are far from the people who can show 
them what living well means. 

Great numbers are without religious care. Many 
Ren ions °* ^e men have grown indifferent, the 

indifference women are full of superstitious fears, 
and the children often grow up untaught., 

"I told him to go," said one father of his little boy 
who never went to church. "I sent him once, but he 
didn't go." Turning to the child, we asked, "What do 
you do Sunday?" "Stay around," replied the child. 

An eldest son said of his parents, helpless before 
their own children, "They ain't got no right to have 
children if they can't make them do what's right!" 
"You must help out yourself, Nicolino," we said. "You 
were born in this country and you have been to school ; 
you must tell your little sister what to do." "Oh, I do ; 
I hit her all the time," said poor Nicolino, justifying* 
himself. 

A family, asked turn about: "What do you do on 
Sunday?" replied, "Don't do nothing." "Have to get 
dinner." "Stay around." "Sleep." "Read the paper." 
A fine looking young fellow, a compaesano, being 
asked in his turn, "Where do you go to church?" was 
silent. The whole family spoke up for him in chorus, 
"He don't believe in God !" 

Smiling, eager and full of good will, his days full 
of hard work, he has come to America to get our best, 
but he has never seen one of us ready to exemplify the 

99 



Neighbors 

give and take of comradeship, or to show him our best. 
Foreign missionaries manage better. They know that 
in order to win people, they must give themselves a 
Need of chance to be liked; that they must go 

comradeship among their neighbors and be known. 
We must find some way to go where the newcomers 
are, and to have them come where we are. 

An Italian physician of middle age, who has won 
success, said bitterly, "When I came to this country, 
it didn't matter how / got along. Nobody cared what 
happened to me. I was a Dago. It is not so in my 
country. There if a man is a stranger, that is a reason 
for kindness." Does this mean that with all our 
boasted institutions, the Rockefeller Foundation, the 
Carnegie Foundation and all that to our credit, after 
all, we have not made good — that we are on the wrong 
side in the parable? "I was a stranger and ye took 
me in." In this new age only fellowship brings salva- 
tion from worn-out ways of living. In this splendid 
age in which we find ourselves, astonished at the glory 
of life, he who does not take and give, and take again 
and give twice over, does not live at all. He is not 
of the world's new birth. 

The Open Door 

There is only one basis for good work — acquaint- 
ance. We must know them, and know them because 
Acquaintance- we want to know them. They must have 
8hj p a chance to know us, and our strong 

tower is our certainty, which they prove over and 
over, that they want to know us. How wide they 

100 



Our Italian Neighbors 

fling the door of their minds and of their hearts to 
our lightest knock! It is certain that whether they 
want our religion or not, they want us, and more im- 
portant still, they want the best of us, the very best 
that we can give them. One of their leaders co-operat- 
ing with Americans in starting a night school, ex- 
claimed, "I know you have gotten the finest people 
in town to come here to teach us." The Italians came 
because those were the people they wanted to be led 
by. Their eagerness to follow makes anything pos- 
sible if only we are fit. Our humility must match 
their eagerness. We must throw the ball because we 
want to, because we long to get into the great game 
of knowing better these people whose acquaintance is 
so worth our while. What gifts they hold toward us ! 
The responsive mind, the eager heart, a splendid past, 
a future glowing in the light of a brotherhood yet to 
be! As they come toward us with glad certainty, so 
must we, with eager happiness, offer ourselves and all 
that we are. They want us — that is plain. As they 
receive all that lies on the surface and on the upper 
levels of our life — our dress, our daily speech, our 
common ways of living, even so, as we prove our- 
selves fit, they will receive, from the deeper levels, our 
intellectual and spiritual life. 

Those who have fallen away from the ancient 
Church of Italy — and there are many who are indif- 
0ur ferent and are bringing up their children 

opportunity without religious instruction — these must 
know, and we must tell them, that here in the United 
States is a Catholic Church, American, not Roman, 
paying allegiance to no foreign authority, yet a Church 

101 



Neighbors 

authoritative, sacramental, and acknowledging the di- 
vine commission to shepherd all the world. Moreover 
our Church, with its noble and dignified Service, meets 
their need of worship in the accustomed way. 

But we must remember that the Church is our- 
selves. Only through ourselves can the Church be 
brought to those who stand aloof, unshepherded or 
uncaring. We must greatly care that these find 
the way of life, and, because we are their brethren, 
beside us seek and find our Father. Only by want- 
ing to reach them, can we reach them. Who are the 
ones who need us ; where are they ? Only by seeking 
can we find them. Those who have opportunity to 
know them well, agree that Italians in this country are 
drifting away from religion, and that the connection 
of many of them with the Church, is a formal con- 
nection of baptisms, burials and marriages. 

Working Suggestions 

There are a few Italian congregations of our 
Church established by the devoted labor of Italian 
priests among their own people, or of Americans and 
Italians working together. Some of these are of 
twenty or thirty years' standing, and in them we see 
the fruit of personal devotion and of pastoral care.* 

Such a congregation, once established, justifies itself. 
The hard thing is to make the beginning where nothing 
yet exists. This holds us back. We do not know just 
what to do and how to do it. 



*See Appendix, Notes I and J. 
102 



Our Italian Neighbors 

Any beginning which is sincere is a good beginning. 

One Diocese, undertaking to face the problem as a 

whole, has appointed a worker to ob- 

A Whole r . 1 • , , ,.«• 

church serve, to get acquainted with the dirrer- 

Responsibility . t . t 

ent possibilities, and to cooperate with 
the different parishes. This means that the burden, 
with all the risk of seeming failure, does not fall upon 
any one parish located near the Italians, nor does it 
fall on a small group of interested persons. Like the 
community-responsibility carried by the public schools, 
it is a whole-Church responsibility, though one parish 
or another may happen to be on the firing line. An 
effort like this grows very fast. Wherever Italian chil- 
dren begin to come with other children to Sunday 
School, it means that that parish is really accepted 
by Italian parents as their own. One or two Italian 
families mean a hold upon a larger group, and that 
means the possibility of all sorts of give-and-take, 
intellectual and spiritual. A Diocese beginning in 
this way should have a center, preferably in the 
largest Italian quarter, where members of any parish 
may go to find the person or family they will make 
their friends. From this center may radiate in all 
directions the lines which connect and draw together. 
With such an arrangement, it is practical to have one 
Italian-speaking clergyman, under the direction of an 
experienced clergyman or under the Bishop, serve 
the different parishes. In the same way an experi- 
enced woman may work with the different parishes 
precisely as any missionary does, at the same time 
building up and planning for the future. 

103 



Neighbors 

The possible supply of persons and help from the 
whole Diocese makes it an easier task than with most 
missionaries, though it is indeed a pio- 
neer field. Just here is our weakness. 
The field is close by, around the corner; it is ou-r 
chance to be missionary, and we are letting it slip by. 
One Italian priest in a Jarge city begged the other 
churches for help. None came. Finally, from the 
Presbyterians, came teachers for his Sunday School. 
Another of our Italian priests lost one-half of his 
Sunday School children because he had no teachers. 
Part of our handicap in attacking our opportunity 
is that we think of missionaries or clergymen or 
a Task for the Ch urcn workers as doing it., We must 
Laity clear our thoughts. What Italians need 

is to know ordinary men and women, doing ordinary 
things, yet whom they recognize as persons whom 
they want to be like. This whole situation is a chance 
for our Church to be missionary in an entirely simple 
and unassuming, matter-of-course way. The only way 
in which we can get hold of a situation, in its religious 
aspects so entangled, is to know and care for the 
human beings concerned. We must think of it, not 
as ecclesiastical, but as human; then it straightens 
itself. 

Both women and men must go at it. Women can 
not go into the barber shops, neither can men easily go 
into the homes. Both Americans and 
Italians must work at it. We must not 
leave Italians to face alone what is after all an Ameri- 
can problem. Amid the vast throng of unchurched 
Italians who need our pastoral care there are at pres- 

104 



Our Italian Neighbors 

ent only nineteen Italian priests of our Church. They 
have done and are doing a work which in self-sacri- 
fice, persistence, isolation and devotion is truly mis- 
sionary. We are too often content to remain not only 
unappreciative of the difficulties attending such work, 
but indifferent to its fine results. We must not stand 
back and merely stare at it. On the contrary, we must 
throw ourselves into such efforts, with all the ability, 
all the intelligence, all the ardor, all the wisdom that 
we, as American Churchmen, possess. The leadership 
for which the younger generation of Italians look, 
is often less that of their own people than of those 
whom they recognize as American. This is America, 
and they have come to this country, deliberately 
choosing it because they want to become a part of it. 

Persons of every sort of equipment are needed in 
facing this tangled situation — so tangled that it is im- 
possible to generalize about it. One makes a state- 
ment, and at once recognizes that the opposite is also 
true. What we must try to do is to meet all their 
needs. One of us can meet the needs of the younger 
people; another, speaking Italian, can be a friend to 
older persons. It must be group-work as all mis- 
sionary work must be; that is, different efforts made 
by differently equipped persons, and all fitting in to- 
gether. The whole Church must mobilize, and wher- 
ever we are needed, there we must learn to go. 

We have kept aloof because few of us know 
Italian. With many families this is not necessary, as 
TheLansuase some En ghsh is always spoken by the 
problem children. Yet to speak "la bella lingua," 

is a flag of good-will, and wins instant courtesy and 

105 



Neighbors 

smiles and excited appreciation of the visitor's friend- 
liness. One Italian exclaimed, though the visitor as- 
sured him she was American, "You must be Italian, 
Americans can't speak Italian." Then shaking his 
finger at her, "You was born in this country maybe, 
but you are Italian." 

The question is often asked whether Church Serv- 
ices for Italians should be held in English or Italian. 
Circumstances vary and make one or 

The Church 

service in both possible. At Grace Chapel and San 

Salvatore in New York, and at 1' Em- 
manuello in Philadelphia, three congregations estab- 
lished for more than thirty years, the Services have 
always been held in Italian for the sake of the older 
people, and to hold the family together. Opinion at 
present, due to the great war, leans toward Services 
in English. The fact is that both are needed, just 
as the ministrations of both Americans and Italians 
are needed, and each parish or each diocese must 
work out what it best can. Those who understand 
no English cannot be held by English Services alone, 
though they may be ministered to personally, as a 
part of the family belonging to the parish. Services 
held occasionally in Italian are a great consolation 
to such people. Sometimes an American priest is 
able to read the Service in Italian, even though not 
able to speak it colloquially. If mistakes in its read- 
ing are not made, the Italians appreciate the effort to 
serve their need. We must utter ourselves to them 
in a thousand ways, sometimes Services at other 
hours than the regular American Services, make an 
easy beginning, when there may be present a few 

106 




CHAPEL OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, BOSTON 




'-■t:M:}- : \ 




CHAPEL OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, BOSTON— INTERIOR 



Our Italian Neighbors 

Americans whom they have learned to know and like. 

If we need to know Italian, we must learn it as 
foreign missionaries do, and it takes very little learn- 
sympathy— a ing to use phrases which win instant 
Language friendliness. Persons are a living lan- 

guage. We ourselves mean more to them than our 
own words mean. If we can only get close enough 
so that we may trust each other! Isolation means 
helplessness but comradeship is strength. We have 
got to lay down our own confidence that we are so 
much better than they, and that our own achievements 
are greater than theirs, and in genuine humility de- 
sire the companionship of their minds and of their 
opportunities. 

As we enter upon an effort to meet their needs, we 
must not ask results. We must not ask success. We 
The Effort know too little where it lies. Success 

is success an d failure lie together. The effort 

which seems failure teaches us how, and that means 
a pressing forward. We have nothing to do with 
success ; our business is to keep on trying. The very 
effort is success. Perhaps we cannot immediately 
make a large Italian congregation; but suppose a case 
in point. An Italian child nearby has parents who 
are indifferent to religion; he is losing out, as a little 
boy, on the training which will make him the sort of 
a man he ought to be, and which his father and 
mother want him to be. Here are handles to seize. 
Any natural way to approach them is a sound way. 
We must think in the small, and appreciate what is 
little. In small and earnest beginnings may lie the 
solution of our big problem. 

107 



Neighbors 

"The Kingdom of Heaven cometh not with ob- 
servation." This is said too seldom in our talk of 
the coming of the Kingdom. As it rests 

Sincerity . & , , to . , 

on profound truths, so it depends upon 
small things. The whole secret is to find our own 
beginning; that will be interesting and will make us 
want to go on. The wonder of this work is that it 
is truly missionary and truly pioneer. Work for 
them that are nigh gives everybody a chance to get 
into the firing line. 

They came to us, as they say so often, Per vivere 
bene — To live well; because they believe that here is 
what makes for right living, for well- 
ordered lives. They do not come for 
our religious life, for they have no thought of need- 
ing it. But life is one. Their needs are ours, as ours 
are theirs. The life of a community is based on fel- 
lowship. This means fundamental respect each for 
the other, and genuine sharing of what makes life 
worthy. We cannot give them what we have — our 
civilization — receiving from them all their part in its 
upbuilding, and yet withhold from them any part in 
our best possession — our spiritual life. 

At Pentecost the gift of tongues may have been not 
as much the speaking differently by many, as the 
power of utterance given all by the 
Spirit of God. In our own day, when 
the flame that burned at Pentecost burns anew, and 
we see the tongue of sacrificial fire above the head 
of many, the Giver of fire and of life makes ready 
for us His choicest gift — Fellowship, between his 
differing children. 

108 



CHAPTER V 

FROM THE LAND OF THE VIKINGS 

Of the three Scandinavian countries, Sweden and 

Norway occupy the larger peninsula in Europe. In 

round numbers this peninsula is from 

Sweden and 250 to 400 miles wide, over 1,100 miles 

> orway— ' 7 

Jjjjgjjjj long, and contains nearly 300,000 square 

miles of territory. It is about one-third 
larger than the Republic of France, and four times 
the size of the whole of New England. To the 
northeast it is joined with the mainland of Europe 
by the Arctic Finland. Its eastern coast reaches the 
Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea. The south is 
bounded by the narrow Sound that separates it from 
Denmark. To the west the Kattegat, the Skagerrack 
and the broad Atlantic beat its rocky cliffs, while its 
rugged northern headlands reach the Polar Sea. Its 
North Cape is within 19 degrees of the North Pole, a 
situation corresponding to that of Alaska and Green- 
land. 

In the northern region, mountainous formations 
reign in magnificence and wildness. Vast groups of 
mountains alternate with isolated summits, and in- 
numerable rivers and streams dash down from the 
heights and form grand waterfalls. Immense forests, 

109 



Neighbors 

and arms of the sea, called fjords, reaching far inland, 
add to the sublime grandeur of the scenery. The gen- 
eral character of the landscape is similar to that of 
Switzerland, and the resemblance is greatly increased 
by numerous glaciers. The great central part is a 
broken country of hill and dale with a multitude of 
rivers and clear, picturesque lakes. In the southern 
part of Sweden there is a broad, open expanse of good 
farming land that remind an American of the western 
prairies. 

The climate of the Scandinavian peninsula is severe, 
although much milder than might be expected in a 
country so far north. Barley and rye are cultivated 
within the Polar circle, and dense forests cover Scan- 
dinavia in the very same latitude in which 
Greenland is wrapped in eternal ice. 
This fortunate condition is generally attributed to the 
influence of the Gulf Stream which runs along the 
western coast of Norway. It is evident that the great 
extent of the area, which from the north to the south 
embraces nearly 19 degrees of latitude, as well as the 
various heights, must tend to produce climatic differ- 
ences which are sometimes marked by great contrasts. 
At Stavanger, Norway, the mean temperature of Janu- 
ary is 34.7° Fahr., and that of July 50.4°, a difference 
of only 15.7° ; while at the capital city of Stockholm 
the mean temperature of January is 24.8° and that of 
July 63.5°, a difference of 38.7°. Farther north the 
difference is, of course, still greater in many places. 

The summer is comparatively short in Scandinavia, 
but this is counterbalanced by the length of the sum- 
mer days and their abundant sunshine, whose benefi- 

110 



From the Land of the Vikings 

cent influence on both animal and vegetable life is 
most conspicuous. In the northern part, the sun 
shines day and night from the last days of May to the 
end of July. This is the reason why Sweden and 
Norway have been called "The Land of the Midnight 
Sun." The Scandinavian summer, especially in the 
north, is a season of nearly constant daylight. These 
evenings and nights, when all nature seems to have 
fallen into a quiet dream, have a magic beauty of their 
own, and produce the most enchanting and lasting 
impression on tourists from other lands. 

This healthy climate, combined with good social con- 
ditions and the even distribution of property, makes 
the position of the Scandinavian race very favorable 
as regards its vital statistics. While the relative num- 
ber of deaths occurring among Teutonic and Romanic 
races in Europe is 24 per annum to every thousand 
inhabitants, it is only 14 in Sweden, Norway and 
Denmark. 

The People 

The race which inhabits these three countries has 
occupied the same territory for an unbroken period 
of at least five thousand years. There are traces of 
an earlier population, but it is not possible to deter- 
mine whether those tribes of hunters and fishermen 
belonged to the present Germanic branch of the great 
Aryan family or to some other race. It is still a 
matter of debate whether these Aryans entered Scan- 
dinavia from the southeast, perhaps from Asia, or 
whether the race originated along the southern shores 
of the Baltic. 

ill 



Neighbors 

The Scandinavians are noted for their strong sense 
of honor, patriotism, valor, chivalry, pride, endurance, 
National self -reliance, obedience to law, hospital- 

characteristics ity, genius for organization, religious 
mysticism, love of political and religious liberty, strong 
desire for adventure, and a passionate love of nature. 
Of these traits, the inborn love of adventure and 
nature was most conspicuous in the old Norsemen and 
stalwart vikings, "who, in the days of old, when Eu- 
rope was degraded by chains of slavery, were the only 
free people governed by the laws they themselves 
made." They have left an indelible impression of 
their character on the countries they overran and in 
which they settled. The history of England and her 
people abundantly proves this. 

Introduction of Christianity 

Ansgar (St. Ansgarius), the apostle of Scandi- 
navia, began his missionary work at Jutland, Den- 
mark, in 826, and at Birka, now called Bjorko, 
Sweden, in 830. The work inaugurated by this pioneer 
missionary was almost extinguished after his death at 
Bremen in 865. 

The real evangelization of the three Scandinavian 
countries is mainly due to the heroic efforts of Eng- 
lish missionaries and Bishops. The cele- 
the English brated Olaf Tryggvason, during whose 
° hnrch epoch-making reign (A. D. 995-1000) 

Norway was Christianized, was confirmed in 994 by 
Bishop Aelfhea of Winchester. From England, Trygg- 
vason brought several missionaries to Norway, where 
he himself often preached the Gospel during his ex- 

113 



From the Land of the Vikings 

tended trips to different districts and colonies, includ- 
ing Iceland and Greenland. The greater part of his 
five years' reign as king, was spent in missionary tours 
among his people. 

It was probably at the suggestion of Olaf Tryggva- 
son that one of his English Bishops, by name of Sig« 
frid (also called Sigurd), extended his missionary 
labor to Westgothland in Sweden. This Bishop con- 
verted and baptized (A. D. 1008) Olof Skotkonung, 
the first Christian king in Sweden. He also baptized 
the other members of the royal family and the lead- 
ing members of the court. In due recognition of the 
blessings received, the king donated the whole State 
farm of Husaby to the Church, and a little later the 
Cathedral was built at Skara. The see of that name 
is the oldest in Sweden, and St. Sigfrid was its foun- 
der. The see of Vexio also recognizes this English 
Bishop as its founder, and an appropriate symbol in 
the official seal of the diocese is a token of the desire 
to perpetuate his memory. 

A number of other Englishmen, whose names shine 
like bright stars in Swedish history, followed, and de- 
veloped the work. Among the more prominent are 
St. David, founder of the see of Vesteras ; St. Eskil, 
the first Bishop of Strangnas; and the three Anglican 
prelates, Rudolward, Ricolph and Edward, who suc- 
ceeded one another as Bishops of Skara. 

The Church of England is the real mother of the 
Church in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. This ex- 
Dominance of P lains wh y Swedish Christians, for more 
Rome t nan two hundred years, refused to sub- 

mit to the decrees from Rome. Pope Eugene III was 

113 



Neighbors 

aware of this influence, and he therefore sent the 
Englishman Nicholas Breakspeare, afterwards Pope 
under the title of Hadrian IV, as his representative to 
the Swedish Church. His genius proved equal to the 
hard task before him, and at the Synod of Linkoping, 
in 1152, he finally succeeded in his efforts to make 
the Swedish Church consent to the payment of "Peter's 
Pence" as an acknowledgment of the papal supremacy, 
a tribute which had already been submitted to in Eng- 
land for two hundred and fifty years. Thus Sweden 
was at first Christianized, and later on Romanized, 
chiefly through the efforts of Englishmen. 

But as there is usually no good without some evil, 
and no evil without some good, so also in this case. 
Cardinal Breakspeare brought with him a young Eng- 
lishman named Henry, whom he consecrated to the 
bishopric of Upsala. This Bishop Henry became the 
trusted friend and adviser of the king, Erik the Saint, 
and in 1157 he accompanied the king and his army to 
Finland for the purpose of converting the Finns to 
Christianity. When the king returned, Bishop Henry 
remained, and became the apostle of Finland. After 
his martyrdom he was made the patron saint of the 
country. 

Present Status of the Scandinavian Churches 

The Reformation in Denmark and Norway resulted, 
in 1536, in a Constitution which made the Churches 
Results of the of these countries Lutheran in doctrine, 
Reformation ritual and polity., In both countries the 
episcopal office has been restored, but not the historic 
succession. Norwegian divines have lately proposed 

114 




HUSABY CHURCH, WESTERGOTLAND, SWEDEN 
The Oldest Church in Sweden 




f 




CHURCH OF ST. ANSGARIUS, PROVIDENCE, R. 1. 

Copied from an XI th Century Church in Sweden 



From the Land of the Vikings 

to remedy this defect by inviting English and Swedish 
Bishops to join in the consecration of men chosen 
for vacant sees in these two national Churches. 

In Sweden, the Reformation began and developed 
under the leadership of two remarkable brothers, 
Olans and Laurentius Petri, both pupils of Luther 
and Melancthon. The former has been called the 
Luther of Sweden, and the latter its Cranmer. But 
Olans, although impetuous and independent, was more 
conservative than Luther, and the gentler Laurentius 
wiser and firmer than Cranmer. One of their earlier 
converts was the great statesman Laurentius Andrae, 
Archdeacon of Strangnas. Through him Gustavus 
Vasa, the liberator of Sweden, became familiar with 
the tenets of the reform movement. They appealed 
to his keen intellect, and he took every opportunity to 
further the movement during his reign (1523-1560). 
At the diet of Vesteras, in 1527, he set forth the needs 
of reform in State and Church. After some resist- 
ance the Estates yielded to the king and passed two 
acts called Recess and Ordinantia. These decrees, 
passed within a single week, at once ended Roman 
supremacy in Sweden. 

The introduced changes were much more gradual 
and continuous than in England, and the reactions 
were far less violent. Both the king and the reform- 
ers were careful to provide for valid consecration of 
all new Bishops for vacant sees. Laurentius Petri, 
after rejecting papal supremacy and all Roman prero- 
gatives, became the first Archbishop of Upsala. The 
new Archbishop's great influence and wise policy pre- 
vailed over the king's caprices and his German ad- 
visers. 

115 



Neighbors 

During the forty-two years of his Archepiscopate, 
he quietly and soundly guided the Church of Sweden 
through her transitions until his great 
work was fittingly consummated in his 
Church Ordinance of 1571, made the law of the 
Church at the Council of Upsala in 1572. This Ordi- 
nance stereotyped the future procedure of the Swedish 
Church in regard to the Episcopate by incorporating 
into her constitution the three characteristic pro- 
visions : "That a Bishop should be regularly elected ; 
that the election should be confirmed by the State; 
that the person elected and confirmed should receive 
episcopal consecration." 

Efforts to bring about a Roman counter-reforma- 
tion, persistent pressure of Calvinistic agitators, and 
arbitrary teaching and administration in some dioc- 
eses, made it imperative to adopt some recognized 
standard of doctrine besides Holy Scripture and the 
three ancient Creeds. This was done at the Council 
of Upsala in 1593. 

The unaltered Augsburg Confession, drawn up by 
Melanchton in 1530, was unanimously accepted by the 
The Augsburg Council, and it has ever since remained 
confession the doctrinal standard of the Swedish 
Church. In commenting on its contents, the late 
Bishop John Wordsworth of Salisbury has made the 
following statement : "There is, I think, nothing in 
the 'Confession' itself to which an English Church- 
man who accepts the Thirty-nine Articles can reason- 
ably object. There is indeed a close relation between 
the two documents. Hardwick points out that the 
Thirteen Articles of 1538 were based almost entirely 

116 



From the Land of the Vikings 

upon the great Germanic Confession, and that they 
were in many ways the groundwork of the Articles 
now in use." 

All the decrees on faith and worship passed by this 
Council were signed by- 1,934 representative men from 
different parts of the realm. 

The Church of Sweden is closely united to, though 

not amalgamated with, the State. Her historic organ 

is the Episcopate ; her judicial organ the 

Convocation r . r . ' J D 

Convocation which meets every hith 
year under the presidency of the Archbishop. This 
body, corresponding to our General Convention, con- 
sists of thirty ecclesiastics including all the Bishops, 
and thirty laymen. It has the power to veto all in- 
terference on the part of the Government and Parlia- 
ment in matters pertaining to canon law. 

Historians usually describe the Swedish Church as 
Lutheran Episcopal with a liturgical form of worship 
similar to the one set forth in the Book of Common 
Prayer. This description is as satisfactory to Swedish 
Churchmen as Protestant Episcopal is to Anglicans. 
Ritual uniformity exists everywhere in Sweden. There, 
as within our own Communion, the clergy belong to 
different schools of thought ; but they all vest and con- 
duct the appointed Services alike. Black gowns, chas- 
ubles, episcopal copes, crosses, staffs, mitres, candles 
and wafers are used, not on account of individual 
choice, but in obedience to law and established usage. 

At present more than 99 per cent, of the entire 
population of Sweden belong to the established 
Church. Of the rest, 56,200 are Baptists; 17,500 
Methodists; 4,400 Jews; 900 Irvingites, or Catholic 

117 



Neighbors 

Apostolic; 1,900 Mormons; 300 Greek Catholics; and 
2,600 Roman Catholics. Public opinion is intensely 
anti-Roman, and the very word Catholic is almost ex- 
clusively used, even by theologians, as a synonym for 
Roman, and is therefore discarded, even in the Creeds, 
where the equivalent "allmannelig" (universal) takes 
its place. 

Education 

There are no illiterate people in the three Scandi- 
navian countries, except a few among the nomadic 
Lapps in the extreme north. Compulsory education 
has been enforced for a long time. The national or 
public schools are considered to be the best in Europe. 
Strangers travelling around are struck by the fine 
school-buildings scattered everywhere, even to the 
farthest north. In villages, towns and rural districts, 
the most conspicuous structure is the school-house 
with its gymnasium and library. 

Religious instruction is given the children in the 
schools from the age of seven until they are fifteen. 
Religious At ^at t ^ me t^y are handed over to the 

instruction clergy f or a still more systematic instruc- 
tion before they are confirmed. There are also numer- 
ous schools for the training of the mentally defective, 
the blind, the deaf and dumb. High schools, trade 
and technical schools, colleges and universities are 
maintained by the State. These institutions are open 
to all people free of charge, and it is therefore quite 
common among the peasants to take advantage of this 
free college training. 

118 



From the Land of the Vikings 

Scandinavians in the United States 

Many historians have proved that Scandinavians 
were among the earliest settlers in our country. They 
have taken a prominent part in the development of 
our economic, political and social life. When Henrik 
Hudson, in 1609, sailed up the great river named after 
him, several Danes were included in his company, and 
were present at his first meeting with the Indians on 
what is now called Manhattan Island. It is claimed 
that the northern part of New York City is named 
Bronx after the Danish settler Ursus Bronck. 

In 1638 the Swedes had begun to settle in the 
regions around the Delaware River, and were among 
the foremost in planting Christian civilization in that 
part of the country. Swedish priests inaugurated a 
mission work among the Indians several years before 
John Elliot and William Penn began their successful 
ministry among these aborigines. From that time to 
1731, the Church of Sweden sent to the Delaware 
colony 34 clergymen, all of whom were recognized by 
the Bishop of London, the Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel, and the English 

Unity with . , . , r 1 • 

the English clergy in Pennsylvania, as lawful min- 
isters of the Church of God, and there- 
fore commissioned to minister, not only among their 
own countrymen, but also to congregations of Eng- 
lish Churchmen. Bishop Swedberg, of Skara, who 
had jurisdiction over the Swedish colony in the New 
World, often reminded his clergy to observe carefully 
what he termed "the existing unity with the English 
Church." When the colony became fully American- 

119 



Neighbors 

ized, the Protestant Episcopal Church inherited these 
old Swedish churches in New Jersey, Pennsylvania 
and Delaware. Their episcopal origin made the as- 
similation a natural development from past events. 

Later Immigration 

Since 1836, Scandinavians have landed on our shores 
in constantly increasing numbers. In 1880, the per- 
n umbers and sons born in Scandinavia and residing 
Distribution m this country numbered 440,262; the 
census of 1910 shows that this number had increased 
to 1,450,733. Of these, 756,047 resided in the north- 
western group of States ; 232,150 in the western ; 242,- 
935 in the eastern; and 15,599 in the southern. Of 
the foreign and native born Scandinavians here in 
1910, 1,364,215 were Swedes, 979,099 Norwegians, and 
400,064 Danes. For several decades, about one-third 
of all our Scandinavians have resided in the State of 
Minnesota. During the last ten years there has been 
a steady increase in all other States. The present 
number of our foreign and native born Scandinavian 
population is estimated to be about 4,000,000. 

The Finns 

Some Americans classify the Finns as Scandi- 
navians, because the boundaries of modern Finland, 
Motive of anc * i ts Christian civilization, are the re- 

immigration su jt of Swedish colonization and con- 
quest; but only 300,000 of its present population of 
about three millions can claim to be of Swedish an- 

120 



From the Land of the Vikings 

cestry. All others are descendents of the Turanian 
tribes, dispersed throughout Finland, Lapland, the Bal- 
tic provinces, parts of Russia proper, West Siberia 
and Hungary. When Finland was transferred to 
Russia in 1809, the Czar at once began to encourage 
the use of the Finnish tongue; but in 1872 he made 
the Russian language compulsory in all schools, even 
though these had been started and liberally provided 
for by the Swedish government. This and many other 
abuses started a rather large immigration to the United 
States. According to the census of 1910 not less than 
126,000 persons born in Finland had settled in this 
country. At present the number of foreign and native- 
born Finns is about 300,000. They are mainly engaged 
in our mining and lumbering districts in the middle 
west, though some have taken over abandoned farms 
in the East and made a success of them. 

The great oppressions in their home-land have made 

them affiliate with the more radical elements of our 

population, but during the war they 

Their Loyalty , , . , « , , , , 

proved their loyalty both by words and 
deeds. A great number took the first opportunity to 
enlist, and they have been liberal subscribers to all 
Liberty Loans, the Red Cross, and organizations for 
the welfare of soldiers and sailors. They are con- 
sidered to be among the best workers in our shipyards. 
In 1869 their mother-Church ceased to be the Stafe 
Church of Finland. At the disestablishment, the office 
of Bishops was retained, but the episcopal succession 
is broken, and the Russian government has refused to 
permit the succession to be renewed through the 
Swedish Episcopate. 

121 



Neighbors 

Religious work among the Finns in the United States 
is carried on by three different Finnish Lutheran Syn- 
ods reporting 128 ordained ministers, 508 churches 
and 45,020 communicants. In addition, the Baptists 
have recently formed a union of a few churches, and 
the Missionary Board of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church grants a yearly appropriation for Finnish work 
in Michigan, New England, Minnesota and California. 

Americanization 

History amply substantiates that Scandinavians read- 
ily amalgamate with other nationalities. In his History 
of Normans in Europe, Johnson says: 

Adaptability ' • . n 

of scandina- In Russia, they become Russians; in 
France, Frenchmen ; in Italy, Italians ; in 
England, twice over Englishmen. Everywhere they 
become fused in the surrounding nationality. ,, They 
become Americanized much more rapidly than any 
other foreign-speaking people, and are always ready 
and eager to march to battle for their adopted country. 
Some criticise this tendency as an inherited weakness, 
while others complain that the Americanizing process 
is altogether too slow. It is true that they love their 
mother tongue, their old songs, sagas and customs, 
because these things give them a vision of their an- 
cestral home and help them to appreciate what is good 
in both the Old and New World. But this inborn 
love of what reminds them of their ancestry does not 
retard the natural process of Americanization. It has 
simply stimulated their racial characteristics of indus- 
triousness, simplicity, integrity, chivalry, obedience to 

122 



From the Land of the Vikings 

law, and loyalty to government. How true this is, has 
been exemplified by men like the Swedish inventor 
John Ericsson, the Norwegian novelist Boyesen, and 
the Danish philanthropist Jacob Riis. During the last 
year the purely American press of the northwest has 
duly recognized this fact. The editor of a Minne- 
apolis weekly has summed up the expressed opinions 
in an article from which the following paragraphs are 
quoted: "One of the most admirable traits of the 
Scandinavian is the quiet deliberation 

Valuable 

Traits of with which he forms his judgments. He 

is not to be stampeded into ill-considered 
action by flamboyant and superficial appeals. He 
makes up his mind on any given subject, not lightly, 
but soberly, considering it carefully in all its aspects. 
He is not satisfied with ready-made opinions, but must 
think out conclusions for himself, he is not given to 
precipitate decisions, but must fully understand be- 
fore he will commit himself openly. . . . The Scan- 
dinavian judgment, conscientious in its desire not to 
be swayed by prejudice or hatred, but to arrive at its 
conclusion through knowledge of the truth and a sane, 
calm process of reasoning, has been formed, and it is 
not vacillating. ... In view of the exceptionally 
notable response of the Scandinavians to the calls 
made upon them by the Government, in acts of patriot- 
ism that count so much more than high-sounding, glib 
and inexpensive language, those who, from ignorance 
or preconceived notions of race sympathies, would 
question their loyalty, are put to shame. If all native- 
born Americans were doing their duty half as well as 
the Scandinavians, the country might well congratu- 

123 



Neighbors 

late itself. In this great fight, by land and sea, in the 
service that helps at home, the American born in 
Scandinavia or of Scandinavian ancestry will be found 
among the foremost in strength, endurance, sincerity 
and courage." 

To this may be added that they are doing their share 
in developing the vast resources of our broad land, the 
majority having settled the farming dis- 
in National tricts of the northwest. Wisconsin, 
Minnesota and the Dakotas were prac- 
tically founded by the Scandinavians. They take 
part in politics, usually on the side of good govern- 
ment. They send their children to schools and col- 
leges instead of putting them into the shops. They 
have no special tendency to form colonies, and, owing 
to their universal education, soon learn English. It 
is generally conceded that they excel in agricultural 
and mechanical skill. Wherever they settle, they help 
to build up and maintain religious, educational, political 
and benevolent institutions. 

In several States the Scandinavians are strong 
enough to control political events, but they show no 
tendency to become a one-party people. Minnesota has 
had five Scandinavian governors, Knut Nelson, now 
United States Senator; John Lind, popularly called 
"Honest John"; the late John A. Johnson; Adolph 
Eberhardt; and the present governor, J. A. A. Burn- 
quist. Of these five, two were elected on the Demo- 
cratic ticket and three on the Republican, a circum- 
stance that shows how independent Scandinavians are 
in politics. 

124 



From the Land of the Vikings 

The Religious Condition 

As the religious condition among the Scandinavians 
in this country probably was more normal before the 
outbreak of the war than it is at present, it seems 
proper that the official statistics of 1914 should be 
taken as a guide of what actually has been accom- 
plished by the religious bodies at work among them. 

According to these statistics the Swedish Lutheran 
Augustana Synod in the United States had, in 1914, 
The Native a baptized membership of 265,052; the 
church different Norwegian Lutheran Synods 

538,383; and the Danish Lutheran Church 41,768. 
The work of these Lutheran organizations was carried 
on by 657 Swedish, 1,346 Norwegian and 191 Danish 
ministers. Expenditures for parochial work amounted 
to $2,461,153, and for benevolent purposes $799,316. 
They have 53 institutions of learning, 5 deaconess 
homes, 24 orphanages, 26 hospitals, 6 homes for im- 
migrants and seamen, and 18 homes for aged and 
infirm. 

Several other Communions maintain organized work 
among Swedes, Norwegians and Danes ; but the re- 
sults so far obtained are not as large as might be ex- 
pected. After many years of faithful work and gen- 
erous support by the respective Missionary Boards, 
only 23,000 Scandinavians have become Methodists, 
35,000 Baptists, and 52,500 independent "Mission 
Friends" and Congregationalists. 

So far as known, about 29,000 of Scandinavian 
parentage have affiliated with Swedish and English 
speaking parishes and missions of the Episcopal 
Church. This proves that the efforts made by our 

125 



Neighbors 

own Communion have been worth while, even though 
they have not received the interest and support of 
Church people to any marked extent. 

With few exceptions the immigrated Scandinavians 
have been baptized and confirmed in the national 
The church's Churches of their respective countries, 
opportunity anc [ the great majority of those born in 
this country have "been grafted into the body of 
Christ's Church" by the Sacrament of Baptism. There- 
fore it is most distressing to note that at least 2,500,000 
Americans of Scandinavian parentage have not yet 
found a spiritual home in this Christian land. This 
condition is a challenge to the American Church. It 
is certainly as important and Christlike to do some- 
thing that will prevent baptized persons from degen- 
erating into infidels, as it is to convert heathen on 
other continents. 

The reasons for the present condition cannot be at- 
tributed to lack of training and sentiment, for the 
Scandinavians are not lacking in either. As a rule 
they are very conservative in all religious matters, and 
they cling with great tenacity to their old ecclesiastical 
traditions. Consequently they do not feel quite at 
home in denominations whose discipline and usages 
are strikingly different from the traditions in their 
ancestral home-lands. The fact that the Lutheran 
Synods in America have not permitted members of 
secret societies, especially Freemasons, to belong to 
any of their churches, has created a tendency among 
Disentegratin* the men to substitute the Lodge for the 
Forces Church. This tendency has unfortu- 

nately reacted on other members of the family, who 

126 







- 


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, •« Ipt . 




f * 


S/' 




■■'■ JSP* 


f 
* 


fpH 




■1 ._ !■■■■■ 



ANGLO-SWEDISH CONFERENCE ON CHURCH UNITY, AT UPSALA, SWEDEN 1909 




_ - , _...-.-. ._. , ._. .-...,.,. 




CONGREGATION OF ST. SIGFRID'S CHURCH, ST. PAUL, MINN., AFTER AN 

EARLY EUCHARIST 



The lower picture continues the group shown in the upper picture 



From the Land of the Vikings 

naturally feel that if the father and the brother are 
not good enough to be Church members they will not 
ask to be admitted. American Christianity has ne- 
glected to care for the parents, and as a result of this 
neglect many parents have lost the sense of responsi- 
bility for the spiritual welfare of their children. 

In spite of redoubled denominational vigilance, the 
condition does not seem to improve. Unified Christian 
effort all over the land is the only adequate remedy. 
But this remedy cannot be applied so long as different 
Communions remain "disobedient unto the heavenly 
vision" and indifferent to what "the Spirit saith unto 
the Churches." 

Intercommunion between the Anglican and Swedish 
Churches has for many years been considered by 
a unifying Churchmen in this country, England and 
Movement Sweden. A commission, appointed by the 

Archbishop of Canterbury, visited Sweden in 1909 and 
conferred with the Archbishop of Upsala and his 
cathedral chapter. While the conference recognized 
that intercommunion practically existed as a matter 
of Christian hospitality and fellowship, it did not pro- 
pose to legalize organic unity by any synodical action. 

Formerly the different Lutheran Synods in this 
country opposed intercommunion between themselves, 
but all of them have lately united in a general body, 
and it is hoped this unifying action will lead to greater 
missionary efforts and closer relations with other 
Christian Churches. 

The aim of the Swedish Mission of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church is not to make converts of other 
Christians, but to minister to the un-churched masses 

127 



Neighbors 

of Scandinavians who are not cared for by other Com- 
munions, and to bring about that unity for which our 
Saviour so earnestly prayed. Looked at in the light 
of past events and present needs, this aim is worthy 
of our best efforts, and our Swedish clergy are doing 
all they can to make their people understand and ap- 
preciate it. 

What the Episcopal Church is doing among the 
Scandinavians in the United States cannot be ade- 
quately sketched in this short chapter. It may be of 
interest, however, to note that in twelve cities of the 
East and Mid- West there are more or less strong con- 
gregations under Swedish priests.* 

Of our Swedish clergy, ten conduct Services in both 

English and Swedish; eight exclusively in English; 

three hold cures in the Church of 

The Episcopal . 

church and the Sweden ; and two are engaged in mis- 

Scandinavians . , . ~ . 

sionary work in China. 
In smaller towns we have a number of mission sta- 
tions. Occasional Services are held in villages and 
farming districts. Private dwellings and barns often 
serve as temporary chapels in which the Sacraments 
are administered. Bibles, prayer-books, hymnals and 
tracts have been freely distributed among miners and 
farmers, and a number of Sunday-school classes or- 
ganized for the instruction of their children. This 
has proved to be the most practical way of reaching 
them. These simple-minded people instinctively feel 
the need of new and higher social ideals which cannot 
be realized without the restraining, transforming and 



*For list of Swedish churches see Appendix, Note K. 
128 



From the Land of the Vikings 

inspiring influence of the Gospel. Every effort in 
their behalf makes them feel that in this land they 
are not forsaken by God and His Church. 

Church Work Among Scandinavian Seamen 

Of all the seamen of the world, none rank higher in 
the noble craft of seamanship than the descendants of 
Anions the t ^ ie °^ Vikings. Born and bred in closest 
seamen proximity to the sea, and inured to its 

hardships and the consequent call for men of stamina 
and resourcefulness to "tackle it," they are commonly 
held to be second to none in prowess and skill. An 
interesting indication of this was given when Sir 
Thomas Lipton a few years ago sent to the yachtsmen 
of the United States his challenge for the "America 
Cup" held by them. The American defender was 
manned with Scandinavian sailors, from the captain 
down. This is testimony enough, especially as they 
succeeded in holding the precious trophy against the 
finest seamanship Great Britain and Ireland could 
produce. 

When the Seamen's Church Institute in New York 
opened its doors in 1913 to the seafarers of all na- 
tions, the Superintendent, the Rev. A. R. Mansfield, 
D.D., determined to care not only for their bodily 
but also for their spiritual welfare. Special depart- 
ments have been organized for work among nationali- 
ties most numerously represented among the sailors. 
The Rev. C. J. Ljunggren is the chaplain in charge of 
the Scandinavian department of the Institute's remark- 
able work. Before coming to this country he had for 
seven years been engaged in a similar work among the 

129 



Neighbors 

seamen in London. His experience and ability make 
him especially well qualified for the important work 
intrusted to him by the Institute. Swedish, Norwegian, 
Danish and Finnish seamen constitute his regular field. 
The work among them is both religious and social in 
character. It includes regular Services in the beautiful 
chapel of the Institute, social gatherings at which vari- 
ous subjects of interest to the men are discussed, and 
extensive visiting of sailors in hospitals, many other 
institutions, and aboard ships. All his efforts have 
been greatly appreciated by thousands of Scandinavian 
seamen frequenting the port of New York. The tem- 
perance work among them has been especially effective. 
Scores of men have given up the drinking habit and 
are living sober and decent lives. During the war, 
Mr. Ljunggren was able to render the Scandinavian 
seamen valuable service by assisting them to obtain 
the papers indispensable to all who desired to con- 
tinue their vocations. 

It is hoped that this work will soon be extended to 
other ports. The Rev. C. P. Deems, Superintendent 
of the Seamen's Mission at San Francisco, intends to 
appoint a Scandinavian co-worker as soon as an ex- 
perienced one can be obtained. 

Practical Suggestions 

A great deal of the work so urgently needed among 
Scandinavians all over the land, can be done by our 
regular American parishes and their staff of workers. 
In a number of places there are exceptional oppor- 
tunities for parochial missions and Scandinavian Sun- 

130 



From the Land of the Vikings 

day-schools. Members of the Brotherhood of St. An- 
drew could do some of the visiting, and members of 
the Girls' Friendly Society might be induced to do 
something for their Scandinavian sisters, especially 
those who are separated from their relatives and 
friends. Communicants employing Scandinavian help 
and workingmen can urge them to attend Services 
somewhere, and thus help them to form the habit of 
going to church regularly. Prayer-books and hymnals 
in the Swedish language can be distributed among 
those who desire to become familiar with the worship 
of our Church. Any rector can invite the general mis- 
sionary to Swedes, or one of his co-workers, to con- 
duct missions and occasional Services for those who 
are not familiar with English. All this can be done 
in hundreds of places, without materially increasing 
the parochial expenses. 

By doing this kind of work more extensively than 
in the past, we will not only help to care for souls, 
where such care is urgently needed, but also render 
effectual aid in the process of welding our heterogene- 
ous population into a real American nation, with a 
common standard of morality, civilization and religion. 



131 



CHAPTER VI 

RUSSIAN, SERB, MONTENEGRIN, BULGAR 

I 

THE RUSSIAN STATE AND THE RUSSIAN CHURCH 

Two very diverse elements — Scandinavian and Mon- 
golian — are blended in the Russian people. In addi- 

Scandinavian t ^ 011 ' We must Dear m mind that the 

plus Mongolian physical features of the country have 
had a profound effect in moulding the national char- 
acteristics. In the ninth century a Scandinavian 
leader named Rurik came to Novgorod in response to 
a request from the people. Here he established his 
rule, introduced order, and laid the foundations of 
the Russian State. The very name "Russia," de- 
rived from a word meaning "viking freebooter," 
evokes a reminiscence of this Scandinavian ancestry, 
further evidence of which is seen in the blonde type 
that prevails among the people around Petrograd. 

The Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century 
descended irresistibly upon Russia, enfeebled by lack 
of national unity. These Mongols or Tartars were 
a central Asiatic people whose invasions constantly 
threatened the civilization of Europe. In the year 
1224 they defeated the Russians in battle, and from 
that time, for over three hundred years, they held 
sway over the people. During this time Asiatic ideas 

132 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

and customs were introduced; in dress and appear- 
ance the people became more eastern than western; 
Russian architecture took on a Mongolian appearance ; 
and a despotic form of government was established, as 
different as possible from the inherently democratic 
ideals of Slavic peoples. Thus the second element in 
the national development came into being, and became 
the foundation of the proverbial saying, "Scratch a 
Russian and find a Tartar." 

The third element is no less apparent. The people 
of Russia reflect the spirit of their vast forests, their 
influence of overcast skies, their immense flat plains. 
Environment Th e almost hopeless struggle with na- 
ture, the tragedy of unremitting toil, have laid their 
mark on the Russian peasant — a class which forms 
the great bulk of the nation. Russian literature and 
music, in their mournful, tragic note, as well as in 
their strong religious feeling, are the reflex of minds 
to which the despotism, both of man and nature, are 
familiar. 

Christianity found its way into Russia at an early 

date. Tradition says that St. Andrew preached at 

Novgorod which was Rurik's capital. 

Christianity He journeyed to Kiev, and kneeling on 

in Russia , , .„ , , . . . , . 

the hills overlooking the city he prophe- 
sied, "Behold in this mountain shall the grace of God 
shine forth. A great city shall rise on this spot. In 
it the Lord shall have many temples to His name." 

In the tenth century Vladimir reigned in Kiev, and 
this is the starting point of Russian ecclesiastical his- 
tory, both as to time and place, just as the ninth cen- 
tury and Novgorod are of the civil history. Kiev is 

133 



Neighbors 

of special interest just now on account of its location 
in the disturbed Ukraine district of southeastern Rus- 
sia along the Dniester and Dnieper rivers. This rich 
agricultural district has been successively in the hands 
of the Tartars, of Lithuania, Poland, and finally Rus- 
sia. It figures largely in the books of the great Polish 
novelist, Sienkiewicz, and, as a result of the war, it 
seems very liable to become established as an inde- 
pendent State, thus recovering the prominent position 
Vladimir gave to it a thousand years ago. Vladimir's 
education was directed by his grandmother, Olga, who 
had embraced the Christian faith on a visit to Con- 
stantinople. Her grandson, however, was not hasty 
in following her example in this regard. He first 
made a close investigation -of Judaism and Moham- 
medanism. With the view of informing himself re- 
garding Christianity, he sent an embassy to Constanti- 
nople, on which occasion the Patriarch celebrated the 
Liturgy in their presence with the utmost splendor, 
in the Church of St. Sophia. "These astonished am- 
bassadors from the north," says one, "found them- 
selves in the finest building in the world, the richest 
product of Byzantine art. Wherever they turned they 
saw gold, silver, precious stones, mosaics. The elabo- 
rate vestments of the priests and the slow-moving 
pomp of the Service, harmonized with the scene of 
surpassing magnificence. They were completely con- 
quered. They reported home the splendor they had 
witnessed. 'When we stood in the temple we did not 
know where we were, for there is nothing like it on 
earth. There, in truth, God has His dwelling. We 
can never forget the beauty we witnessed. No one 

134 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

who has once tasted sweets will afterward want the 
bitter. We can no longer live in heathenism.' ,: The 
scale turned in favor of the Byzantine faith, and in 
A. D. 988 the Russian people formally accepted Chris- 
tianity. 

We note in passing how the missionary work of 
East and West has witnessed to the quiet, indirect 
influence of women. St. Paul remembered Lydia and 
Damaris and those women who labored with him in 
the gospel. England owes a debt to Bertha, Ethel- 
burga and Hilda. The conversion of the Franks was 
brought about through Clotilda; and back of Vladi- 
mir's conversion lies the work of his pious grand- 
mother Olga, in shaping his education. 

Moscow had its beginning about the middle of the 
twelfth century, and in the fourteenth century it be- 
came the rallying point of national life. The transfer 
of the seat of the Metropolitan to Moscow made the 
city a religious centre, and its princes gradually as- 
sumed a position of influence in Russian life. 

In 1480, Ivan the Great threw off the yoke of Tar- 
tar servitude which had lasted two hundred and forty 
The Ancient years. He married Zoe, niece of Con- 
capitai stantine Paleologos, the last Byzantine 

emperor. This marriage with the heiress of Constan- 
tine became the basis of Russia's shadowy historic 
claim to Constantinople — a claim which was pressed 
even as late as the outbreak of the recent war. Ivan 
assumed the title "Czar," adopted the double-headed 
eagle on his seal, surrounded himself with Byzantine 
pomp, and was the founder of the Czardom of Mos- 
cow and the true maker of Russia. 

135 



Neighbors 

The year 1588 — the year of the Spanish Armada — 
marked an important change in the organization of 
the national Church of Russia, in the establishment 
of the Patriarchate of Moscow. This took place in 
the reign of Feodor, son of Ivan the Terrible, the 
last of Rurik's line. A visit of the Patriarch of 
Antioch to Moscow in 1580 in quest of alms, and a 
visit of the Patriarch of Constantinople on a similar 
errand two years [later, gave the favorable opportunity 
for the establishment of this Patriarchate, to take 
the fifth place, succeeding to the honor which Rome, 
by apostacy, had forfeited. The Patriarchate of Mos- 
cow was, however, short-lived. It was abolished in 
1700. 

The Romanoff family came into power in the person 
of Michael, who ascended the throne in 1613, and 
introduced order into a State that had suffered much 
from the unsettled conditions attending frequent 
changes in the civil power. His son and successor, 
Alexis, by the reconquest of the middle Dnieper, added 
to the expansion of Russia which had been limited to 
the Volga valley around Moscow. 

The year 1689 marked the accession of Peter the 
Great, a crude, simple, rough man, fond of drink, and 
greatly interested in mechanics. His chief ambition 
was to see Russia a maritime power, with a good out- 
let to the sea available in winter as well as summer, a 
result which followed the defeat of Sweden in 1709, 
and the consequent treaty of Nystadt by which Russia 
secured the Baltic provinces of Esthonia and Livonia, 
with the latter's capital, Riga. Eventually also the 
whole of Finland came under Russian control. Hence 

136 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

it is that the very large Finnish immigration into the 
United States must be considered in connection with 
Russia, although the Finns are racially more closely 
akin to the Hungarians than to the Russians, and, 
ecclesiastically, are Lutheran, not Orthodox. 

Under Peter the Great, rather unsuccessful attempts 
were made to inoculate Russia with western ideas — 
a tendency seen in most of his successors. Sometimes 
it has been French influence, at others German, which 
has had the ascendancy among the "intellectuals" of 
Russia. It need hardly be added that among the 
mass of the people no foreign influence 

Czar Peter and , , , , rr -r> 1 

the Holy has ever had any general effect ; the Bol- 

sheviki movement, though undoubtedly 
initiated and fostered by Germany, is said to com- 
prise less than 10 per cent, of the population. Peter 
made of Russia an Empire, and, abandoning the ancient 
capital, Moscow, he built as his capital the modern 
city, Petrograd. He also reorganized the Russian 
Church, abolishing the Patriarchate of Moscow and 
placing the Church authority in the hands of "The 
Holy Governing Synod," consisting of the Metropoli- 
tans of Kiev, Moscow and Petrograd, several Bishops 
and other ecclesiastics, and a civil officer known as the 
Procurator who represented the Czar as head of the 
Russian Church, was answerable only to him, and was 
vested with almost limitless authority. The career of 
the notorious Procurator, Pobedonostsev (1827-1907), 
illustrates the dangers inherent in such an office. This 
arrangement continued from 1700 until the Revolu- 
tion in 1918. The Patriarchate of Moscow has now 
been restored and the present incumbent is the Most 

137 



Neighbors 

Reverend Tikhon, who will be remembered as former 
Russian Archbishop in New York. 

The Russian Church is part of that great Eastern 
Orthodox Communion to which belong most of the 
Greeks, Syrians and other peoples of the Near East, 
and which, in the eleventh century, became separated 
from the Western Church, including the Roman and 
the Anglican branches. It has always been essentially 
a missionary Church. Religion plays a large role in 
Russian life; it permeates everything; the peasant 
lives under the consciousness of God's presence. 
When the Russians in New York recently gave a 
bazaar for the benefit of war relief, it was opened 
with a religious Service conducted by the Archbishop. 
A writer describing the mobilization of the Cossacks 
at the opening of the recent war, speaks of the solemn 
consecration of their arms and persons by the priests. 
a Religious A y i s i tor t0 a Russian steamship office 
People was surprised to find an icon on the 

wall. But all this is perfectly natural. There is a 
spontaneity about Russian religious observance, and 
the Church has taken possession of the whole man — 
his soul, will and heart. "The ideal of the masses," 
says a native writer, "is Christ. At the supreme and 
fateful moments of national life our people ever de- 
cide, and have decided, every matter in the Christian 
spirit. ,, 

Stephen Graham's Russian Pilgrims gives us a side 
light on the spirit of the people which reveals the 
consuming faith and ecstatic conviction of spiritual 
reality which make the pilgrim absolutely independent 
of the physical discomforts and prolonged hardships 

13d 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

of the journey. There is an inward exaltation by 
which he rises superior to bodily weakness. The pil- 
grimage to the Holy Land is the crowning achieve- 
ment of the peasant's life, Jooked forward to and 
prayed for. Its memory colors his thought to his 
dying day, and when he comes to the end he is 
clothed in a shroud bought in Jerusalem, and a cross 
from the Holy Land lies on his breast- Jesus is con- 
ceived as a living presence amongst them. The pil- 
grim possesses, by spiritual intuition, a knowledge of 
God and a realization of divine companionship. We 
see here all the romanticism and religious ecstasy of 
the mediaeval crusader in intensified form. The Rus- 
sian is preeminently religious, ecstatic, idealistic, mel- 
ancholy, mysterious. Mysticism is his by nature. 
There is an underlying note of melancholy in Rus- 
sian character that runs through the music and rings 
National out * n t^e we ^ plaintive "Kyrie" in 

character the village church. Above all, the Rus- 

sian is intensely patriotic. Gogol incarnates the spirit 
of the people when, in his exile, he exclaims, "What 
is the mysterious and inscrutable power that lies hid- 
den in you, Oh Russia? Why does your melancholy 
song echo unceasingly in one's ear? What do you 
want of me? What is there between you and me?" 
The social movements in Russia, as in every coun- 
try, take their color from the genius of the people. 
The English labor movement expresses itself in the 
calm, deliberate, practical commonsense attitude of 
the Anglo Saxon. The social democracy of Germany 
bears the impress of the Teuton passion for organiza- 
tion and effectiveness. Social unrest in France takes 

139 



Neighbors 

the form of Syndicalism, which breathes the nervous, 
excitable temper of the Latin people. Heroic, desper- 
ate — such words exactly express Russian character in 
its vague, dimly defined yearning for social reconstruc- 
tion, yet without a clear cut programme as to what 
shape the reconstruction shall take. For this reason, 
whatever excesses the ignorant Russian people may 
have been led into in attempting to secure a better 
social order, they are not to be condemned offhand. 
More perhaps than in any other country has social 
unrest in Russia been caused by intolerable oppres- 
sion; certainly more than elsewhere have the Russian 
people defined their unrest in terms of idealism and 
religion. 

We have dealt thus at length with Russian history 

and traits because an understanding of these seems 

essential to any proper degree of sym- 

Misnnder- , _ J * f , ,-, . . 

standing: of pathy. To most of us the Russian is 
an unintelligible, inscrutable being, 
known chiefly through the Russian Jews who seem 
ubiquitous in our larger cities, and through lurid 
tales of anarchy and nihilism. We are liable to for- 
get that the violent uprisings which we take to be 
characteristic of Russia have never been largely par- 
ticipated in by the simple, hardworking, religious 
peasants, who constitute the vast majority of the Rus- 
sian people. The Bolsheviki, largely Jewish, with 
their godlessness and their destructive theories, make 
practically no appeal to the real Russia — the Russia 
which it would be to our advantage to understand 
better. 

140 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

Only very slowly have we of the West learned to 
appreciate Russia and interpret her aright. She has 
been misunderstood by the Christian nations who are 
her neighbors. In 1856 we find Christian France and 
England uniting with the Turks to strike at Russia. 
Even Lord Salisbury was afterward compelled to con- 
fess, "We backed the wrong horse." Again, in 1878, 
England supported the Turk against Russia; and the 
Congress of Berlin, by hateful readjustments, robbed 
the Russians of the fruits of their victory over Tur- 
key, and sowed many of the seeds which came to 
fruitage in the recent destructive world conflict. 

The early tradition of friendship between Russia 
and the United States, so pronounced in Civil War 
days, has undergone some abatement in recent years. 
This may be in measure due to Jewish influence on 
the American press. Russia's treatment of her Jewish 
subjects is something which her warmest American 
friends can not for a moment countenance or defend. 
The Jews have been subjected to intolerable persecu- 
tion. Little wonder is it that the Jewish element, now 
having gained temporarily the upper hand in Russia, 
has dealt harshly with the Orthodox Church. We 
know all too little of conditions to hazard an opinion, 
but we fear that the State Church can have little 
weight with the radical leaders, who regard it as re- 
sponsible for the heavy hand of persecution visited 
on their people in past years. Russian anti-Semitism 
strikes root in historical and economic conditions. 
The Jews, forbidden in the Middle Ages to engage in 
agriculture, were forced into other pursuits and be- 
came keepers of the vodka shops which brought them 

141 



Neighbors 

into opprobrium. As money-lenders they took mort- 
gages on the mir* and on private property, holding 
the helpless peasants in their power. The Kief mas- 
sacres found a possible motive in the peasants' hos- 
tility to their creditors. The connection of Jewish 
students with the Nihilist movement intensified preju- 
dice against this people. 

While the religious devotion of the peasant today 
is very striking and presents a pleasing picture, yet 
Divisive there are cross currents in Russian life 

Elements that throw light on the present situation 

and help us to understand the forces that have brought 
it about. Russia is honey-combed with innumerable 
dissenting sects that have played an important part 
in her history. Just as we today in America have 
numerous religious denominations, including such ec- 
centricities as Mormons, Russellites, Holy Rollers, 
Pillars of Fire, — so in Russia there have been Strin- 
golniks, Raskolniks, Stundists, Doukhobors, etc., etc., 
whose hostility to the Orthodox Church is the one 
point they have in common., Furthermore there has 
always been in Russia an "Intelligentsia" class, hos- 
tile to the Church and to all religious organization, 
and fashioning themselves, now on French models, 
now on German. 

The Orthodox Church was confronted with a dim- 
cult task in accommodating herself to these various 
currents of thought as they swept over society ; and in 
estimating the present crisis it is necessary to take 
into account all these divergent factors and appraise 



*A village community holding land in common. 
142 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

each one at its worth. So rapid are the changes in 
Russia today that it is well nigh impossible to analyze 
the situation intelligently. 

As far back as the time of Peter the Great, with 
his passion for things European, the leaders of the 
Russian people became divided into two great parties 
— the Slavophiles, representing the conservative, Slavic 
element; and the Occidentalists, whose desire was to 
Europeanize Russia. To the former, the ancient city 
of Moscow was the holy city — the centre of national 
life, for which the nation would some day rise; the 
opposing party naturally regarded the modern Petro- 
grad as the proper symbol of Russia. The Slavophile 
preached the doctrine, "Learn from the people," the 
Occidentalist looked to Europe for teaching. These 
two opposing ideals have been at the root of the dis- 
turbances which have shaken Russia in the past, as 
well as more recently. In January, 1864, there came 
into being, by statute, a form of local self-government 
known as the Zemstvo, to which was entrusted con- 
trol of matters pertaining to education, sanitation, 
RiseofRepre- highways, etc. .So powerful did the 
Go^erament Zemstvos become that, though feared by 
the bureaucratic government, they had 
to be appealed to during the Russo-Japanese War. 
A Zemstvo Union was formed, designed to take over 
hospital sanitation and other war work; but it pres- 
ently found itself strong enough to undertake political 
regeneration. During the great war, so long as Russia 
was a factor, the all-Russia Zemstvos took over prac- 
tically all of the civil administration of Russia so far 
as concerned education, sanitation, traffic and internal 

143 



Neighbors 

trade. Thus it came about that the local Zemstvos, 
representing self-government and democratic ideals, 
found themselves drawn together for purposes of in- 
creased efficiency, and finally, in a great national 
crisis, developed sufficient power to overthrow autoc- 
racy. Unfortunately, however, the chaos which en- 
sued, increased as it was by the defeat 

The Bolshevik! _ , _» . , 

of the Russian armies and the propa- 
ganda of foreign agents, gave opportunity for the rise 
of a minority party — the Bolsheviki — whose ideal was 
a proletariat State in which the propertied and em- 
ploying classes should be deprived of all political rights. 

Powerful among the early opponents of Bolshevism 
were the so-called Kadets, — Social Democrats, repre- 
senting middle class bourgeoisie elements. They were 
the successors of the Occidentalists, seeking the de- 
velopment of Russia along western lines under a re- 
publican form of government or a constitutional mon- 
archy. The ideals of this party had the sympathy of 
the Church which adapted itself readily to the new 
regime through the restoration of the Patriarchate 
and the inclusion of laymen in the general and local 
ecclesiastical administration. This party, however, 
failed to maintain itself. 

The Bolsheviki gained the power and a social revo- 
lution followed. Professor Ross attributes this in 
some measure to the influence of vast numbers of 
revolutionists who returned from foreign countries 
where they had found refuge. The Bolsheviki are 
committed to an international socialistic revolution; 
patriotism is unknown to them ; they care nothing for 
Russia; they have no interest in the preservation of 

144 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

the country's integrity. One hundred thousand rad- 
icals, embittered against the old order, gained ascen- 
dancy for the time being, and sought to establish a 
State in which the bourgeoisie or middle class should 
have no share. This State was to represent the com- 
plete rule of the working class over the propertied 
class. The Bolsheviki leaders, large numbers of whom 
were Jews, felt a natural grievance against the Ortho- 
rhe Revolution dox Church, and brought about the com- 
and the church pi ete separation of Church and State, 
and the confiscation of all Church lands. Notwith- 
standing this, however, when the Bolsheviki issued a 
decree abolishing the Christian observance of Sunday, 
and forbidding wedding or funeral Services in the 
churches, a procession of 600,000 persons marched 
through the streets of Moscow in protest, while the 
anti-religious pamphlets of the Bolsheviki have been 
universally condemned and destroyed. There are many 
other indications that the Russian Church, enthroned 
in the hearts of the people, will yet assert herself on 
behalf of religion and order. 

Still another powerful factor in the revolution has 
been this question of land-ownership. This is a vital 
matter in a country where the vast bulk of the popula- 
tion is dependent upon agriculture. Under the old 
regime the upper classes largely owned the vast areas, 
which the peasants tilled. The statement has been 
made that the Czar personally owned 21,000,000 acres 
of the best agricultural land in Russia, and five times 
that area in Siberia. Some members of the Duma, in- 
cluding the President, were large land-owners. The 
determination of the peasant or tenant-farmer to se- 

145 



Neighbors 

cure these estates, is a factor which can not be lightly 
regarded by any political party. Hence, one of the 
favorite mottoes on the red banners of revolution is, 
"Freedom of land" — this, of course, in opposition to 
the almost inherent Western conception of private 
property in land. 

It would be rash to attempt at present to predict 
what will finally happen in Russia, but it is the opinion 
of those who know her best that the destructive forces 
have about spent themselves, and that the conserva- 
tive elements in the real national life of Russia will 
presently come to the front. 

It is largely a question of the seat of authority. 
Under the Bolsheviki all vestige of authority, whether 
of State or Church, disappeared. We onlookers have 
seen repeated attempts, on the part of one faction or 
another, to reestablish authority. If we can trust 
the remark of the writer previously quoted that the 
ideal of the Russian masses is Christ, and if in addi- 
tion we can rely upon their proven loyalty to their 
national Church, there is abundant cause for hope 
that eventually the accustomed authority of the Rus- 
sian Church will again be recognized, that she will 
again take her rightful place in the life of the people, 
and prove the rallying point for an ordered State. 

The Russian Church in America 

The Russian Church came to North America at the 

end of the eighteenth century when colonist monks 

laid the foundation of the Faith in the 

A Missionary 

church Aleutian Islands. By 1834 a vigorous 

work was being carried forward on the Alaskan 

146 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

Peninsula. Six years later a diocese was organized 
under Archbishop Innocent of Kamtchatka, a man of 
bright intellect and indomitable energy, and a natural 
mechanic. Entering the priesthood, he did splendid 
service at Irkutsk, but his heart was set upon missions, 
and he was sent to Russian North America. Arriving 
at Ounalaska, he began by studying the language of 
the natives. Like Cyril and Methodius of old, he 
composed an alphabet, translated prayers and books, 
and built a church with his own hands. For ten years 
he journeyed from island to island in a sealskin canoe. 
He was made Bishop of a vast field, comprising the 
whole of Alaska and the outlying islands, where he 
did heroic service, traveling by sailing vessel, reindeer 
and dog-sledge, and on snow shoes. In 1868 he was 
transferred to the See of Moscow. He died in 1879. 
The Russian Church has shown a zealous mission- 
ary spirit. In northern Asia and Japan the work has 
met sympathetic response. There is a large body of 
Orthodox Japanese, with native clergy, under a Rus- 
sian archbishop. The Russian method is to baptize 
large numbers of Indians and Esquimaux and train 
them subsequently in the Faith. Our own method 
is the reverse. We insist on a long period of testing 
and instruction before baptism. 

The Russian Church in Alaska made its influence 
felt on the Pacific slope. When our Church in Cali- 
fornia was isolated, lacking episcopal oversight, the 
idea of applying to the Russian Church was in the 
minds of some. 

Our direct contact began in 1862 when the Rev- 
erend Dr. Thrall of San Francisco called the. attention 

147 



Neighbors 

a significant °* General Convention to the large num- 
visl * ber of Christians of the Greek Church 

coming to California, and suggested some message to 
the Russian Church touching more adequate spiritual 
provision for them, the two communions both belong- 
ing to the great Eastern Orthodox Church. A com- 
mittee was appointed to consider the expediency of 
communication with the Orthodox Church, to collect 
information and to report to the next convention. In 
1863 Mr. S. B. Ruggles, a layman of New York, a 
member of this committee, visited the Metropolitan of 
Moscow, and it is not too much to claim that the 
Russian Episcopate in America owes its beginnings 
indirectly to the influence of our Church through the 
Russo-Greek committee. 

In 1864 the secretary of the Russo-Greek commit- 
tee, the Reverend John Freeman Young, visited Russia, 
bearing letters from the American Bishops to the 
Metropolitan of Moscow. As Mr. Young was leaving, 
on the completion of his visit, the Metropolitan made 
the characteristic remark, "Will you bear from me the 
kiss of peace to the whole venerable hierarchy of the 
American Church ? Assure them of my warmest sym- 
pathy and love, and of my power and hope that we 
may soon be one in mind, as we are already one in 
heart, in Christ Jesus." Going to Petrograd, Dr. 
Young was presented to the Holy Synod. The letters 
of the American Bishops were deposited in the 
archives of the Holy Synod, being the first communi- 
cation regarding reunion, made to the hierarchy of 
the Eastern Church, by the canonical Bishops of any 
independent national Church, since the Great Schism. 

148 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

Dr. Young set forth the historical position of our 
Church with the utmost clearness. He outlined the 
purpose of the Russo-Greek committee as "mutual 
knowledge and acquaintance, having ultimately in 
view, should it appear feasible and desirable, when 
we come to know each other better, such mutual rec- 
ognition of Orders and Sacraments as will allow 
members of the Anglo-American communion to avail 
themselves of the offices of the Eastern Church, with 
the consent of its Bishops and clergy, without re- 
nouncing the communion of their own Church, and 
will permit members of the Eastern Church with like 
consent as occasion shall serve, to avail themselves 
of Anglo-American ministrations." 

The committee moved slowly and with deliberation. 
They inclined to no hasty step. They were cautious 
with regard to entering into relations with a com- 
munion so little known. The Eastern Church seemed 
very remote, separated from us by the great oceans 
of the world. There was no opportunity of observ- 
ing its worship and rites. In 1865 the committee pre- 
sented its first report. The Bishop of Massachusetts 
expressed his conviction that no benefit could be de- 
rived from the further prosecution of the subject, and 
moved that the committee be discharged. He was 
overruled; the committee was continued. 

Events proved that the Church had taken up the 
subject none too soon. The purchase of Alaska in 
1867 gave it a practical bearing and removed it from 
the field of academic discussion. As such, it came 
before the Convention in 1868. Necessity for action 
now arose, not only by reason of the residence of 

149 



Neighbors 

hundreds of Russian communicants in the principal 
Attempts and c iti es > as sheep without a shepherd, but 
Failures a i so because of the recent acquisition of 

large Russian territory, with its Bishop and forty 
clergy. In view of the transfer of Alaska, a special 
committee was appointed to confer with the Synod of 
the Russian Church on the mutual relations of the 
Churches in that territory. Four Bishops asked leave 
to record their votes in the negative — Massachusetts, 
Ohio, Delaware and the Assistant Bishop of Virginia. 
The Russian reply was courteous but made it clear 
that, in reciprocal participation in the solemn perform- 
ance of Sacraments, previous agreement in faith is 
preemptorily indispensable. 

Dr. Young was succeeded in the secretaryship of 
the committee by the Reverend Charles R. Hale who 
was peculiarly equipped for this position by a natural 
interest in the Oriental Church, and a fluent knowl- 
edge of the Greek and Russian languages. He threw 
himself into the work with great zeal. Letters of 
greeting were sent to the Patriarchs and the Holy 
Synods of Russia and Greece. Replies were received 
from Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch, as well 
as from Theophilus of Athens, President of the Holy 
Synod of Greece, who, as a young deacon, had been 
associated with Germanos. When Dr. Hale visited 
Alexandria in 1885, he saw, framed in the reception 
room of the Patriarch's palace, the engrossed letters 
which he himself had sent on behalf of the American 
Church. 

In 1874 the committee asked to be discharged, be- 
lieving that the future work in the cause of inter- 

150 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

communion could be better done by the Bishops of 
the Church as occasion might arise. 

With the entrance of America into Alaska there 
was a decline of Russian immigration thither, and the 
ecclesiastical centre shifted from Sitka to San Fran- 
cisco, which remained for many years the seat of the 
Russian Archbishop. 

As early as 1870 there was a movement toward the 

establishment of a Russian church in New York. In 

1873 the Procurator of the Holy Synod 

The Russian , • , , , f ■, 

church im the laid stress on the great value of the 
chapels abroad, not only to the Orthodox, 
but as a means of giving other Christian bodies an op- 
portunity of closer acquaintance with the Orthodox 
Church. The building of chapels in New York and in 
San Francisco was advocated. In 1902, in New York, 
the Church of St. Nicholas on East 97th Street near 
Madison Avenue, was erected. Three years later it 
became the cathedral, when the seat of the Archbishop 
was transferred to New York. 

The Russian Church is well organized and carefully 
administered. It had generous financial grants from 
Russia until the war. In 1913 there were 181 Rus- 
sian churches in the United States, many of them 
costly and imposing, with 133 priests, and 65,000 ad- 
herents. The report for 1918 shows 223 congrega- 
tions. Of the 300 Russian Orthodox priests in the 
United States today, 60 were born and trained here. 

There is a Theological Seminary at Tenafly, N. J. 
The Church ministers to her people through orphanage, 
immigrant home and schools. 

151 



Neighbors 

While the figures of Russian immigration appear 
large, yet the newcomers from Russia proper are not 
Russian relatively many. Jews, Poles, Finns, 

immigrants Lithuanians, and "Little Russians" make 
up the big numbers of "Russian born."* Of Lithuan- 
ians alone, there are said to be no less than 750,000 in 
America. They all desire national autonomy for their 
native country rather than that it should be united 
to Poland as has been proposed. If an independent 
Lithuanian State should be formed, it would doubtless 
be joined by the "White Russians," the Letts, and the 
Lithuanian inhabitants of East Prussia, thus forming 
a homogeneous nation of possibly 30 millions of peo- 
ple closely related racially and in language. The for- 
mation of such a State could not fail of effect in re- 
ducing emigration and possibly in turning the tide 
in the opposite direction. The principal points of dis- 
tribution of the Russian immigrants are New York, 
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey and 
Connecticut. A list of the Russian churches, pub- 
lished recently by the Orthodox Messenger in New 
York, shows how faithfully the Church has followed 
the immigrant to all these points. There are settle- 
ments of Russian Mennonites (Dissenters) in South 
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. 

A tradition of friendliness exists between the Rus- 
sian Church and our own, and there is a clearly de- 
fined policy of cooperation on our part. Instances 
might be multiplied of ready help, as when Bishop 
Parker used his influence to improve the economic 
condition of the Russian mill workers in New Hamp- 



*See Appendix, Note L. 

153 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

shire; or when Bishop Restarick exerted himself to 
secure an Orthodox priest for the Russians in Hono- 
lulu; or when Bishop Darlington recently assisted in 
organizing the Russian American Club in New York. 
Churchmen will do well to familiarize themselves 
with the Russian Service, as translated into English 
by Miss Isabel F. Hapgood. The ex- 

The Russian ... - _ . . , 

church quisite beauty of Russian music makes a 

forceful appeal to the devotional in- 
stinct. No instrumental music is allowed in Russian 
Churches, hence all the music is vocal. In this, all 
Slavic peoples excel. Even the ancient Roman writers 
mention the beauty of Slavic songs, and it is proverbial 
that "Where there is a Slav, there is a song." 

"Vocal music," says one writer, "is an integral uni- 
fying element permeating the entire public worship. 
This music possesses a distinctive character of deep 
fascinating richness irresistibly thrilling." The chanted 
responses of the congregation are inspiring. The dra- 
matic and mystical character of the liturgy makes con- 
tinuous appeal to eye and ear. The illiteracy of the 
Russian masses makes this dramatic appeal especially 
necessary. 

Russia has borne staunch witness for the Orthodox 
faith in America. To her, both Syrians and Serbs 
are indebted for their first religious foundation in the 
United States and "a long continuance of nursing 
care and protection." It is significant to find four 
Albanian Churches on the official Russian list, i. e., 
in Boston and Worcester, Mass., in Philadelphia and 
in St. Louis. It illustrates the Russian zeal to shep- 
herd the scattered Orthodox generally. 

153 



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II 



THE SERBS AND THEIR CHURCH 

We heard much, during the war, of the Serbians 
and the Croatians. Racially closely akin, these two na- 
originand tionalities have been ecclesiastically sep- 
Deveiopment arate for many centuries, the Croatians 
being Roman Catholics while the Serbs remain true 
to the Eastern Orthodox Church. They are a purely 
Slavic people who, in the seventh century, descended 
from the Carpathian mountains and settled in groups 
in the Balkan peninsula. Six hundred years later 
these groups united into one Serbian nation with an 
independent national Church, and so powerful did 
they become that they made plans for finally putting 
an end to the menace of Turkish invasion. These 
plans miscarried however. In 1389 the Serbs were 
defeated by the Turks at the battle of Kossovo, and 
their country passed under Turkish rule, not to regain 
its independence until 1878. 

The Serbian Orthodox Church is closely interwoven 
with the whole history of the people, sharing all the 
vicissitudes and struggles of the national life. As 
one writer says, "To the Serb, the Church is a part 
of himself, identified with all that he is or that be- 
longs to him. It is a part of his family, his commun- 
ity, his nation. He has no conception of them apart 
from it. He could not understand the existence of 
the Serb nation without the Orthodox Church. Re- 
ligion enters intimately into his everyday life. If a 
friend calls and a jug of wine is brought out, God's 

154 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

blessing is invoked by the one who offers and the one 
who receives the cup." 

Accepting Christianity in the Byzantine form, the 
Serbs were dependent on Constantinople; but in 1219 
The Serbian an independent national Church was or- 
church ganized through the efforts of a prince 

of the reigning house who, leaving his father's court, 
became a monk and later Archbishop. He is venerated 
by the Serbs under the title St. Sava or St. Sabbas, 
and many of their churches are dedicated to him.* 

But Serbia is not the only centre of the Serb race. 
Gavrilovich declares that Serbia herself has recruited 
her leading functionaries — professors, doctors, in- 
structors, even legislators, from the Serbs of Hun- 
gary, just across the border from Serbia proper. Dur- 
ing the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries colonies of 
Serbs had established themselves across the border, 
in the Hungarian province of Slavonia, and as they 
were good fighters and might prove a useful bulwark 
against the Turk, the Hungarians encouraged these 
settlements and protected the settlers. But when she 
no longer had need of their military prowess, she 
quickly forgot her pledges of political and religious 
liberty, and grants of land. We mention these facts 
because most of our Serbian immigration is not from 
the territory of Serbia itself, but from the neigh- 
boring districts of Slavonia, Bukowina and Dalmatia. 

The Serbian Church in America has, from its in- 
ception, been closely identified with the Russian. Many 
RussianiziBr Serbs worship in the Russian churches, 
the Serbs t h e proportion of the latter being as high 

♦For a list of Serbian churches see Appendix, Note M. 
155 



Neighbors 

as seventy-five per cent, in some cases. Prior to 1902 
there was no large Serb immigration, and the Church 
is poor and loosely organized. The Archimandrite is 
the Reverend Sebastian Dabovitch, who was born in 
San Francisco in 1863. His parents came from Bocche 
di Cattaro in Dalmatia. Baptized and ordained in 
the Russian Church, he was educated in Russia and 
Serbia. He has always been on most cordial terms 
with our Church, whose relation to the Eastern Ortho- 
dox is one of close kinship. 

The exact figures regarding Serb immigration are 
in confusion, since the federal statistics group to- 
gether Bulgarians, Serbs and Montenegrins. The first 
Serbian church in the United States was built at Jack- 
son, Cal., in 1894. Since that date congregations have 
been organized in many of our industrial centres, espe- 
cially in the Middle West. This would indicate a 
steady increase in Serb immigration, and a growing 
opportunity for the establishment of closer relations 
between our own Church people and the representa- 
tives of this independent branch of the ancient Eastern 
Orthodox communion. 



Ill 

THE MONTENEGRINS 

When, in the year 1389, the fatal battle of Kossovo 
reduced the Serbs to the Turkish yoke, a remnant 
a Serbian escaped and found refuge in the inacces- 

Remnant sible fastnesses of a cluster of rugged 

mountains overlooking the Bay of Cattaro, where a 

156 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

new and independent Serbia came into being, — Tser- 
nagora or Montenegro. It represents the remains of 
the old Serbian empire, and has always successfully 
maintained its independence against the Turks who 
never exercised more than a nominal suzerainty over 
these brave mountain people. From 1516 the govern- 
ment was in the hands of the Vladika, or Prince- 
Bishop, who united in himself both the civil and 
ecclesiastical authority, the succession passing from 
uncle to nephew. The line of Prince-Bishops came to 
an end in 1851 with the death of Peter II. His suc- 
cessor, Danilo, renounced his orders, married and had 
a family. Danilo was assassinated in 1860, and Nich- 
olas came to the throne. His title was changed to 
"King" in 1910. One of his daughters married the 
King of Italy ; another married into the Russian royal 
house. The relations of Russia and Montenegro, ec- 
clesiastically as well as politically, have always been 
close. In 1813 Montenegro aided Russia in taking 
Dalmatia from the French. Napoleon had scarcely 
heard of the Montenegrins until he was defeated by 
them; and in recognition of her loyal help at this 
time, Russia granted Montenegro an annual subsidy. 
Cettinje is the Montenegrin capital. The popula- 
tion is thinly scattered over the slopes of the hills, 
ekeing a living out of the sterile soil. They are phys- 
ically strong and tall — a warrior race; indeed, the 
most powerful rulers of Serbia in the past have come 
from Montenegro. Simplicity prevails everywhere. 
The houses are small stone huts with one door. The 
war has pressed heavily on this little nation; its ban- 
ner has gone down in defeat, and its king is an exile. 

157 



Neighbors 

We receive a small number of Montenegrins among 
our immigrants, but they are not tabulated separately, 
and are commonly designated as Serbs from Monte- 
negro. As chairman of a Serbian Relief Committee 
the Bishop of Harrisburg has been in correspondence 
with the Serbian and Montenegrin Bishops, and has 
come into close touch with their respective Churches. 

IV 

THE BULGARIANS 

In the year 670 A. D. there appeared on the eastern 
confines of Europe a savage tribe of Tartars known 
as Bulgars. Crossing the Danube, they 
invaded the country of Moesia and easily 
subjugated its Slovenian inhabitants. As time passed, 
however, this conquered Slavic race absorbed its Tar- 
tar conquerors; though, strangely enough, the result- 
ant nation became known, not by their original name, 
but by that of the Tartar invaders — Bulgars or Bul- 
garians. 

In the latter half of the ninth century a sister of 
the Bulgarian king was hostage at the Byzantine court 
where she embraced the Christian faith, and, returning 
home, sought the conversion of her brother. Tradi- 
tions says that her efforts were reinforced by Meth- 
odius, a monk-missionary and an artist, whose paint- 
ing of the Last Judgment so impressed the monarch 
that he inquired its meaning, and the way was opened 
for his instruction in the Christian creed. 

Ancient Bulgaria had a splendid history, but in 1390 
the kingdom fell before the Turks. Then came five 

158 



1 - V IS^' 


3S 

SMK~ 


^ ._*. * •: f J^gr^ 


K **- 


5 - ; #iEr 

c ->jfffer— - 




asHHHHBStiMBflyHH^^^HflHl^H^H ^H 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

Turkish l° n g> dark centuries of cruelty and op- 

Domination pression, culminating in a most frightful 
and revolting massacre. The Turks fell upon this 
simple peasant people, slaughtering men, women and 
children by thousands. Christendom rang out in pro- 
test, and Gladstone's famous pamphlet on the ''Bul- 
garian Atrocities" roused the indignation of the civil- 
ized world. But Russia was most deeply moved, be- 
cause these people were Slavs of the same religious 
faith, and speaking a language not differing greatly 
Russian from the Russian. Russia's support of 

support Bulgaria against Turkey led to the 

Russo-Turkish war, one of the severest conflicts of 
the last century. With the timely assistance of Ru- 
mania, Russia won; and her victorious troops came 
within sight of Constantinople, and wrested from the 
Sultan the Treaty of San Stefano. This treaty was 
finally modified, in many respects most unfortunately, 
through the influence of England and Austria. Bul- 
garia was divided and shorn of part of her territory ; 
and Macedonia was given back to Turkey — a fearful 
calamity for its unfortunate people. This is of direct 
interest to us since Macedonia was largely populated 
by Bulgars, and the larger percentage of Bulgar im- 
migration to the United States comes from Macedonia. 
Physically, the Bulgarians bear very distinct evi- 
dences of the Tartar strain ; temperamentally, they are 
stolid and practical, persevering and patient, reserved 
and undemonstrative, hardworking, economical, tem- 
perate and of great physical endurance. They have 
always been responsive to Western education, and 
sympathetic to America and American ideals. They 

159 



Neighbors 

are thoroughly democratic. The national dress of 
sheepskin indicates their peasant occupation. Un- 
happily the reigning dynasty is German, and is hardly 
representative of the best self of the people. 

The Bulgar Orthodox Church has shared all the 
vicissitudes of the nation. In 1764 it was subjected 
The orthodox to t ^ le Greek ecumencial Patriarch whose 
church position is unique, as political represent- 

ative of the whole Christian population of the Otto- 
man empire. But the Bulgarians had always been 
restive under the ecclesiastical rule of the Greek 
Church, and in February, 1870, the Sultan established 
an exarchate to include the territory corresponding to 
Bulgaria (which was still under Turkish rule and had, 
as yet, no national existence), as well as the districts 
of Adrianople, Salonica, Korsovo and Monastir. This 
step was important, as implying the formal recogni- 
tion of a Bulgarian, as distinct from a Greek, na- 
tionality. 

Prior to the Balkan wars there were about 25,000 
Bulgars in the United States. They built their first 
church, in 1907, in Madison, 111. There are also colo- 
nies in Venice and Granite City, 111., and in Steelton, 
Pa. Unfortunately their Church is lacking in any 
Bulgarians central organization, and although they 
in the u. a use the same language in their Services 
as do the Russians and Serbs, i.e., the old classic 
Church Slavonic, the racial and national cleavage be- 
tween these people seems to be too strong to admit of 
ecclesiastical unity. There were 500 Bulgars in Steel- 
ton, Pa., prior to the war. A neat building bears the 
inscription, Bulgarian Church of St. Blagoveshtenie. 

160 



Russian, Serb, Montenegrin, Bulgar 

The priest, the Rev. Theophylacte, has charge of the 
church with its beautiful icons and its Service-books. 
The thrift and solid character of the people of this 
congregation promise well for the development of the 
best type of citizenship. One man found employment 
with the traction company in construction work, saved 
his earnings, and finally invested in a little business 
which he conducts successfully. 

The Bulgars give a very favorable impression, and 
our Church has an opportunity of Christlike service 
in extending to these people a hand of friendly help 
and encouragement in the strengthening and develop- 
ing of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in their new 
home. 



161 



CHAPTER VII 

A NATION REBORN 

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, the Czecho- 
slovaks stepped into the page of history written by 
The Czechs ^ S reat war > an d every one of us has 
been asking, "Who are these people with 
this strange name?" The truth is that the Bohemians, 
repudiating their former name and publishing their 
own racial title, Czech (pronounced as if spelled 
Check), have at last been freed from their ancient 
oppressors, the Hapsburg family, and, taking the arm 
of their weaker racial brethren, the Slovaks of northern 
Hungary, once more stand before the world an ancient 
nation reborn. 

The history of the Czechs carries us to Bohemia 
which Shakespeare described as a "desert country near 
the sea." It takes its name from Boii-heim — "The 
Home of the Boii," a Celtic tribe who originally occu- 
pied the land into which the Slavic Czechs migrated 
in the fifth century. The name Bohemia has been 
written large in many a page of history, as for a thou- 
sand years these virile people stood bravely out against 
the tide of pan-Germanism until their country pro- 

162 



A Nation Reborn 

jected alone into Germany almost like an island. "This 
branch of the Slav peoples," says Georges Bourdon, 
the French writer, "installed in Bohemia from the 
fourth to the seventh century, was ahead of the rest, 
and at that very moment could boast the glory of hav- 
ing created a culture and having indicated to Europe 
the road to the future. These were the Czechs, pio- 
neers of liberty and soldiers of truth, who for a long 
time contended alone against the convulsions of Ger- 
manism, and they contended without flinching. Con- 
quered at least, in 1620, they did not yield, but, bleeding 
from their wounds, awaited their time, — and it has 
come !" 

One of the old, old Christmas carols sung by the 

children, and again year after year by men and women 

in the Church of England and the Epis- 

The Czechs 

and the copal Church in America, never losing 

English. . a . t ; . - , 

its popularity, always quaint and lovely, 
is "Good King Wenceslas." The music is "tradi- 
tional," that is, it has been sung by the English from 
time immemorial. But who among us knows that 
Wenceslas was king of the Czechs in Bohemia as far 
back as the year 925, when Athelstan was West Saxon 
king in England, and Dunstan was a boy in Glaston- 
bury destined to become Bishop of London and Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury? We do not know how long a 
time it was before the saintly deeds of the Czech king 
came over in story to England, nor when English chil- 
dren began to sing about him at Christmastide. But 
the carol stands as a type of the influences which 
drifted westward century after century from these 
eager Slavic Christians to their more stolid cousins 

163 



Neighbors 

in England. A still closer alliance between England 

and Bohemia was formed when, in 1381, Richard II 

married a sister of a jater King Wenceslas. 

The Czechs became Christian long after the British, 

and even after the Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain, 

but their Christianity came to them so romantically 

that the tale of it reads like some long-forgotten fiction 

of old folk-lore. But that the story is true, the witness 

of an ancient language testifies ; for the Old Slavonic 

conversion to usec * * n ^ Eastern Orthodox Churches 
Christianity st in ii ves j n t h e form that it had when 

it issued warm on the breath of the first Czech Chris- 
tians a thousand years ago. Christianity came to the 
Czechs from the East, from Constantinople, and from 
Christian Greece. Two young men, consecrated mis- 
sionaries, came out from Salonica with their learning 
and their zeal for Christ, and went up the Danube 
River past many a Slavic tribe and beyond the knowl- 
edge of man, until they found the pleasant and fertile 
valleys of Moravia. These were Cyril and Methodius, 
ambassadors of Christ to the Czechs. They brought 
the story of the Cross to these people in their own 
tongue, and Cyril wrote out the Gospel for them that 
they might read it for themselves. Because they had 
no alphabet, Cyril made one for them, and invented 
quaint letters which helped out the Greek alphabet to 
express Slavic sounds. Today the Cyrillic alphabet is 
universal in Eastern Europe, and is familiar to most 
of us in Russian print. This conversion of the Czechs 
occurred in the year 860. 

German missionaries representing the Church of 
Rome, had, before that, tried to convert the Czechs in 

164 



A Nation Reborn 

Greek Bohemia, but even at that early date 

Not soman Czechs and Germans found themselves 
inexorably and permanently opposed. So in Bohemia 
and Moravia were established Greek rather than 
Roman rites and doctrines. The gift of the Roman 
mind is law and the duty of submission to authority, 
while the Greek mind offers to the world the freedom 
of the human soul; this is true even in the Christian 
Church. So the gift of the Church of Rome through 
German missionaries, the Czechs flung back, and turned 
with joy to spiritual liberty and living faith which the 
Eastern Church brought them. 

No wonder that when the Reformation began in 
England and "The Morning Star of the Reformation." 
John Wycliffe, preached, another an- 
swered him from Bohemia — John Hus, 
preaching in the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. It was 
as though once more the morning stars sang together 
and the sons of God shouted for joy! John Wycliffe 
died in peace in his own little parish, but John Hus 
was reserved for martyrdom. To his own amazement, 
and to the amazement of both England and Bohemia, 
John Hus was brought by German intrigue before a 
council summoned by the Pope at Constance, and that 
council declared Hus a heretic. Never was there a 
more infamous council nor a wickeder sentence. John 
Hus was burned at the stake July 6, 1415. The au- 
thorities ordered his body burned and his ashes thrown 
into the river Rhine. Strange to relate, the same coun- 
cil condemned Wycliffe as a heretic (although he had 
been thirty years dead), and ordered his ashes cast 
into the river Avon. When the commission appointed 

165 



Neighbors 

to dig up the bones of Wy cliff e, came to the little 
English village of Lutterworth and disturbed the 
graveyard of St. Mary's Church, there must have come 
to the hearts of the plain English folk a bitter desire 
to be freed from such foreign desecration of their 
religion. 

War flamed up in Bohemia, and four great German 
armies marched upon the Czechs at intervals of two 
Revolt— or three y ear s, only to be hurled back 

johnziska utterly defeated by the Czech armies led 
by Ziska, one of the most picturesque figures in all 
history. An old man, short and broad, with long, slen- 
der nose and a fierce red moustache, blind in one eye, 
over which he wore a patch, he called himself "John 
Ziska of the Chalice, commander in the Hope of God." 
The people were fighting for their religious liberty, for 
the free reading of the Holy Bible, for the receiving 
of ihe Chalice by the lay people in the Holy Com- 
munion, so that the Chalice became their standard, and 
they wore it embroidered on their banners and tunics. 
In the year 1436, antedating the Reformation in the 
Church of England by a century, Christendom accred- 
ited to the Czechs a national Church, independent and 
self -organized, with Bishops, Priests and Deacons, pos- 
sessing an inherent vitality. The people sang them- 
selves into religious fervor, and transformed the 
ancient Greek Church custom of singing Easter hymns, 
into singing hymns the year around. Nothing like it 
had been known before in the world. Little do we 
think as we sing hymn after hymn in church and at 
home, whence came this gift to Christendom. The 
hymn, "Christ the Lord is risen again," is one of the 

166 




PORTRAIT OF JOHN HUS 



A Nation Reborn 

Czech Easter hymns. Not a Roman priest was to be 
found in Bohemia or Moravia, and only the capture 
of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 prevented re- 
union with the Greek Church. This National Church 
was not Eastern Orthodox ; it was Catholic, not Papal 
but Episcopal, and its people were called Utraquists. 
But secretly and constantly, by political intrigue and 
ecclesiastical trading between Rome and Austria, 
a church forces were at work for two centuries 

Dispersed to break up the solidarity of Nation and 

Church. The Jesuits were introduced in 1556, and they 
entered with orders to burn every Bible and hymnbook 
and every piece of literature written in the Czech lan- 
guage. Women preserved family Bibles by baking 
them in loaves of bread, and Bishops and Priests con- 
ducted divine Service in the woods and on hill tops. 
By the year 1620 Germany and the Roman Church had 
wholly destroyed the nation. The people fled from the 
land, and wandered over the face of the earth. Mil- 
lions were killed or starved to death. Many emigrated 
to England, where in one generation they became 
Anglicized, changed or translated their names, and in 
another generation found themselves in Holland and 
then in New England among the Puritans, and in New 
York City and Pennsylvania. Fragments of the Epis- 
copal Church of the Czechs, greatly disorganized and 
much altered by adverse influences, were found here 
and there, and for many reasons more or less protes- 
tantized. The Moravian Church was one of these, 
recognized in 1749 by the British parliament as "an 
ancient Protestant Episcopal Church/' The strange 
thing about these people then, as it is now, was their 

167 



Neighbors 

swift acceptance of the English language, and the 
Moravians preached the Gospel as though they were 
Englishmen. It was John Bohler of the Moravian 
Church who started to carry the Gospel to the negro 
slaves in South Carolina, met John Wesley, and con- 
verted him to the missionary aspect of the Church 
which led to the great revival of 1737. The last 
important Bishop of the Moravian Protestant Church 
was John Komensky (Comenius), the founder of pub- 
lic school education, who died in Holland in 1670. 
The National Church perished in 1623. The Utraquists, 
the original stock of the ancient Church left in Bo- 
hemia and Moravia, — eight hundred thousand reduced 
from four millions, — returned sullenly to a formal 
obedience to the Church of Rome, and today the Czechs 
are but nominal adherents of the Roman Catholic 
Church. In January, 1919, a Congress of Bohemian 
Roman Catholic priests held in Prague, adopted reso- 
lutions demanding the free election of Bishops, the 
abolition of the rule of celibacy among the clergy, 
the preparation oif a Book of Prayer in the mother- 
tongue and the use of that tongue in religious Services, 
and an adequate system of education for the clergy.* 
A year later, the Pope excommunicated the Czech 
Church on the ground of these demands. 

The fringes of the Czech race, spreading southeast- 
ward along the foot of the Carpathian mountains, form 
a sub-race called the Slovaks, — a rem- 
nant of the Moravian population which 
passed under Magyar rule in the eleventh century. 



♦See The Churchman, March 22, 1919, p. 18. 
168 



A Nation Reborn 

They are historically interesting for having made the 
tinware of Europe in the Middle Ages, wandering 
from country to country, and in England called "Tin- 
kers." They have struggled against the Magyars, or 
Hungarians, deploying out upon the plains of Hun- 
gary, occupying the Hungarian province of Slovakia, 
but never enjoying a definite land of their own, — their 
race and nationality denied by their oppressors. With 
the determination to "Magyarize" the Slovaks, the 
Hungarian government persistently denied them all 
racial privileges. The use of their own language was 
restricted by law, and they were deprived of the most 
ordinary educational facilities. Prior to the recent 
war, there was not, among these three millions of 
people, a single Slovak school receiving government 
support. Though entitled to forty members in the 
Hungarian Parliament, the Slovaks were never able 
to elect more than five. A Slovak land-owner could 
be forced, at any time, to sell his real estate to any 
person designated by the State. Even the Slovak press 
was systematically persecuted in Hungary, and today 
there are more Slovak papers in the United States 
than in the home-land. These papers were refused 
postal privileges in Hungary for the very significant 
reason that they were regarded by the Hungarian gov- 
ernment as a distinct menace. No wonder that the 
Slovaks have sought a haven of refuge in the United 
States, or that, on arrival, they bear the pitiable marks 
of an oppressed people — poverty and ignorance! 

In the home-land, the war has brought them relief, 
for the Czechs have espoused their cause, and have 
taken them under their strong brotherly arm. From 

169 



Neighbors 

this relationship comes the compound name, Czecho- 
slovaks. The Slovaks are divided in religion, two- 
thirds being Roman Catholics, a portion Lutheran, 
and a smaller portion Greek Catholic. The strongly 
nationalistic Slovaks are Roman Catholic, and one of 
the remarkable signs of these times is the unity of 
national purpose which exists between the liberal free- 
thinking Czechs, and the zealous Roman Catholic 
Slovaks. 

The part played in the recent war by the Czecho- 
slovaks has been one of the most romantic chapters 
a Modern °^ m °dern history, — these people are al- 

" Anabasis" ways doing romantic things of great im- 
portance, — their escape from the Austrian army into 
which they had been forcibly pressed. The thousands 
who escaped into Serbia were hurled back with the 
Serbian army across the desolate mountains of Al- 
bania, the remnant of half their number were soon 
found fighting in the Alps with the Italian army. The 
thousands upon thousands who escaped by pretended 
surrender to the Russians, formed themselves into 
splendidly organized troops, and before the world 
could believe it, Czecho-Slovak regiments having al- 
ready prevented the spread of German influence east- 
ward from Russia proper, were marching across Si- 
beria with the firm determination to embark on the 
Pacific coast, and, by way of America and the Atlantic, 
find their way into French brigades, fighting the enemy 
on the western front. Halted on their way, the Czecho- 
slovak armies yet stretch nearly around the world, 
amazingly brave and swift and resourceful. There is 
not its parallel in history. And the strange thing, too, 

170 



A Nation Reborn 

is that they have carried with them wherever their 
regiments are stationed, libraries of books, full orches- 
tras and regimental bands, and all the equipment of 
outdoor gymnasium work, thousands and thousartds 
of men reading and singing and playing instruments 
of music, then fighting fiercely beyond belief, relaxing 
in spare moments to play athletic games and exercise 
in rythmic calesthenic work which is their peculiar 
pride. As Olive Gilbreath has recently written, "How 
tell the tale of the Czechs without seeming legend ? One 
cannot tell the truth with any hope of being believed !" 

The great war is over. On September 3rd, 1918, Sec- 
retary Lansing announced that the United States Gov- 
ernment recognized the Czecho- Slovaks as an inde- 
pendent nation embracing the territories of Bohemia, 
Moravia and Silesia in Austria ; and Slovakia, in Hun- 
gary. On October 28th Czecho-Slovakia declared its 
independence, and raised its national flag with two 
broad stripes, white and red. On November 12th, 
Thomas G. Masaryk took the oath of office at Prague 
as President of the Republic. 

Quietly, unostentatiously, the Czechs in our land, 
The Czechs patriotic Americans almost to a man, are 
in America steadily acquiring full citizenship, con- 

tinuing their course of a generation of Americanization. 
While glad of their native land's final restoration to its 
former glory, and rejoicing with their brothers and 
cousins in their new republic, they themselves love the 
United States of America. 

They entered the stream of American immigration 
at a very early date, and are scattered widely over the 
country from the Connecticut Valley and Bohemia, 

171 



Neighbors 

N. Y., to Moravia, Texas, and Seattle, Ore. In Cedar 
Rapids, la., the Public Library contains a special sec- 
tion set apart for Bohemian books. They are settled as 
prosperous farmers in the northwestern States; they 
are in our great cities as skilled laborers, tailors, car- 
penters, machinists, bakers, and cigar-makers. They 
are thrifty and honest, law-abiding, careful of their 
children, and as a rule are property-owners. Indeed, 
in New York, Chicago and Cleveland many have be- 
come wealthy. The New York City tenement in- 
spectors report that the Czechs may be called the 
cleanest poor people in the city, but they remain poor 
but one generation. Music is their passion, and hardly 
a family can be found without a piano and one or two 
violins. The names of the Bohemian composers 
Smetana and Dvorzak are familiar to every lover of 
music in America. The boys are almost without ex- 
ception excellent singers, above the average, wonder- 
ful choir boys right in our very midst, and mostly not 
going to any church. Ask a Czech confidentially what 
is his religion, and he will answer you as though speak- 
ing of a lost cause, "The John Hus Church." That is 
to say, these are children of an ancient sister Episcopal 
Church, and we have not known it until today; we 
scarcely know it or believe it now. These people, 
therefore, are not to be reached by our Church like 
those of any other people of foreign birth. 

The first immigration from Bohemia to the United 
States was after the revolution of 1848 in Austria, and 
* » * ~.* «* the Czechs who came, left their native 

An Independent 

*■*• country because of political dissatisfac- 

tion. These were well-to-do merchants and other busi- 

172 



A Nation Reborn 

ness men and scholars who settled in the Middle West. 
The later immigration, both of Czechs and Slovaks, 
occurred during the thirty years from 1880 to 1910, 
and these people came on account of intolerable con- 
ditions at home for the working man and farmer. 
They came into this country in vast hordes — men, 
women and children — settling first in New York, Cleve- 
land and Chicago, and later spreading out to smaller 
cities or farmlands in the East or Middle West. Liv- 
ing in colonies, they have naturally done their own 
banking, and had their own doctors, lawyers and pub- 
lishers. The Slovaks have been inclined to build their 
own churches, especially Roman Catholics who have 
brought their priests from the old country. The Czechs 
have, on the contrary, fought shy of any Church, and 
have been content with their own Sokol or social com- 
munity organization. In cities in Illinois, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma and the Dakotas, are half 
a million Czechs, all unchurched. 

The field of our Church among the three-quar- 
ters of a million or more Czechs and their children 
a unique * n America, is almost without limit. 

opportunity ft j s indeed white already to harvest. 
The Roman Catholic Church is powerless to reach 
these people, except now and then when a tactful 
Roman priest can gather a congregation and hold 
them for the period while one generation grows up 
into the "freethinking" age. Entire communities num- 
bering thousands of souls have been abandoned as 
hopeless. There is an organization of Freethinkers 
who carry on an atheistic propaganda with the express 
purpose of destroying all Christian faith in the minds 

173 



Neighbors 

of the young. Their spirit has been poisoned by the 
adversity of history, and they act as those who have 
been deprived of their right to believe in a God. The 
Czechs, however, possess an inherent spiritual hunger 
for the sacraments, and a desire for uprightness of 
life and a clean conscience, even though they have 
been described as "the most unreligious of all immi- 
grants in the United States." In this country, the 
Protestant missions among them have succeeded best 
when they have used personal persuasion and a rational 
appeal based on the ethics of life. Institutional and 
neighborhood settlement work among them by some 
Protestant missions has also been productive of re- 
sults, but the principal reason for any congregation is 
the fact that there is a minister who can marry them 
and baptize their children, this sacramental tie being 
the main bond to the church in Bohemia. Another 
very prevalent reason for sending their children to 
Protestant Sunday Schools has been to learn the Eng- 
lish language and learn American customs. The bulk 
of these people here, however, remain untouched by 
religious work. Social service will not coax them into 
the Church, for in almost every group of fifty or more 
families they supply themselves with a neighborhood 
centre and build their own community house, with 
gymnastics and calisthenics for both boys and girls, 
and gatherings for singing and other social exercises. 
In the large cities they even have their own "movies." 
Sunday is the great family gathering day, and one of 
their chief grounds of opposition to the children going 
to Sunday School, is that it takes the children away 
from home just when the grandparents are making a 

174 



A Nation Reborn 

visit, or when the cousins are having an all-day picnic 
out in the country, or it may be that the father wants 
to take his boy off fishing with him. 

In the year 1855, our Church in St. Louis tried to 
reach the Czechs in that city by translating Morning 
a Czech anc * Evening Prayer, the Litany, and 

Prayer Book Holy Communion into their own lan- 
guage. This endeavor failed, however, for four rea- 
sons : First, because the book was not translated into 
good and idiomatic Czesky; second, because the book 
was printed in German text, and although that was 
what was used in Bohemia, it had been forced upon 
them by law and was not of their own choice ; the text 
used in "the land of liberty" is the text used in Bohemia 
today. The third reason for the failure of this partial 
Prayer Book was that the translators thought the 
Czechs must be ultra-Protestant because they were anti- 
Roman, and so were afraid of the strong word "priest," 
and actually used the word meaning "pastor," so pre- 
senting the forbidding aspect of German Protestantism 
antagonistic to these Catholic and sacramental people. 
The fourth reason for failure was that the Prayer- 
book was given to the Czechs in their own language at 
all. It must be remembered that the Czechs in this 
land desire to perfect themselves in the English lan- 
guage. The older generation may indeed be limited 
to their own tongue, but the children are more eager 
than those of any other race to become Americans in 
every sense of the word, and their parents press them 
forward to this end. And it is this second generation 
which is outdoing their elders in their non-religious 
and general anti-church attitude, speaking English and 

175 



Neighbors 

fast becoming more American than many children of 

English stock. Here is the testimony of a typical 

Czech : "I am a Czech, and was born in Bohemia and 

lived there until 1888 when I came to 

A Typical 

American America. That was thirty years ago, and 

I was seventeen years old. At first I 
had a hard time, and had to do any kind of work that 
came along, was painter, butcher, anything to live. I 
was paid very little. Four of us Jived together. We 
had two rooms, one with two beds, and one we used as 
a study and sitting room; and we studied too. What 
helped me most was that I had a fair education in the 
old country, even knew a little Latin and Greek, and 
understood the value of an education. The first thing 
I bought in this country was a book. Half of each 
page was in English and half in Bohemian. I made my- 
self study half a page each night, no matter how tired 
or hungry I was. Later I took it to Europe and left 
it with a relative, so that young people coming over 
here might study and know a little of the language of 
America before they came. I want my children to be 
broadminded, and children cannot grow up broad- 
minded if they go to foreign-speaking schools." 

Two attempts by our Church in the northwest have 
been made to take over congregations of Czechs, but 
pioneer n0 available native priest could be ob- 

Work tained and the work did not progress. 

Meanwhile the English-speaking children slipped 
through and away from these attempts to reach them 
as foreigners. About twenty years ago, hundreds of 
children came across the railroad tracks to the Sunday 
School of Grace Church, Chicago, until they crowded 

176 



A Nation Reborn 

all classes. Bright eyed and eager, these were chil- 
dren of Czechs, and soon there were from six to 
eight hundred of them in the Sunday School. These 
children, especially the boys, seemed from the very 
start to grasp two fundamental ideas, — America and 
the Episcopal Church.* The Church of the Good 
Shepherd, Chicago, is placed now in a community of 
25,000 Czechs, and this parish, once made up of purely 
English stock, is gradually winning its way among the 
new people who have surrounded it. Although this 
church is small, yet the prospects for the future are 
very encouraging. A good proportion of the com- 
municants, some of the Sunday School teachers, chil- 
dren in the Sunday School and boys in the choir, are 
increasingly from the Americans of that neighborhood 
who are of Czech parentage. When the Chapel of 
the Heavenly Rest (old St. Alban's Church) at 116 
East 47th Street, New York, was actively alive, Czech 
boys and girls, delightfully attractive children, found 
their way into the Sunday School, at first but a few 
and timorously, and then to the number of two hun- 
dred. When the Chapel was abandoned, in January, 
1903, this most promising work ceased, and how great 
an opportunity was lost to reach the 50,000 unchurched 
Czechs in New York City, can never be estimated. 
Twenty-five years ago, Czech people crossed the old 
covered bridge from West Springfield, Mass., to 
Springfield, and sought baptism and marriage from the 
clergy of Christ Church. Today these people go no- 
where to church; they have lapsed from the Church 



♦Grace Church was destroyed by fire September 26th, 1915. 
177 



Neighbors 

into freethinking. In Westfield, Mass., a colony of 
500 Czechs was established (now all Americans), and 
for some time the Sunday School of the Church of the 
Atonement, itself only a mission church, has depended 
upon these children for a large part of its membership, 
while the choir has at times been wholly made up of 
them. About fifty of these have come into the Church 
through confirmation. Before the freethinking propa- 
ganda reached its present strength, the tendency of the 
Czechs was toward the Episcopal Church, for they 
grasped its Catholic and missionary nature. But sev- 
eral circumstances worked against them. First, our 
people did not recognize them, and classed them as 
foreigners, presumably Roman Catholic. Second, when 
they did attend our Services they were unable to com- 
prehend the Office of Morning Prayer; its ritual 
seemed complicated, with the continual rising, sitting 
and kneeling of the congregation ; the Service of Holy 
Communion would have seemed to them more natural 
and simple. Third, rented pews, with the exclusive at- 
mosphere of cushions and carpets connected with some 
of the Episcopal churches through whose doors they 
peered, seemed to forbid their entrance. Although 
their children might attend Sunday School, yet they 
themselves might not attend church, and the children 
grew up apart from the Church itself. Much of this 
happened a quarter of a century ago, and today some 
of these very children are good American citizens, 
many of them exceedingly prosperous, and most of 
them parents and grandparents with a younger genera- 
tion of non j church-going people. 

The figures giving the statistics of the Czechs in 

178 



A Nation Reborn 

the United States are almost startling. Out of a total 
The present of ? 50 > 000 > the Roman Catholic Church 
Need can account for only 200,000, and a gen- 

erous estimate gives the various Protestant organiza- 
tions working among them less than 50,000. This 
leaves half a million people unchurched, indifferent to 
religion, inclined to atheism, and yet not only acknowl- 
edged by all who become acquainted with them as an 
upright and morally clean people, but declared to be 
absorbingly interesting and companionable, while the 
children are fascinating and lovely. 

The Presbyterians have a number of ministers of 
native stock. Their work is mostly small and mostly 
institutional, but it is the best that is being done. The 
Congregationalists, too, are doing a little work, and 
have a small mission in Bohemia itself. But with the 
thousands of unchurched Czechs in New York and 
Chicago, and only somewhat smaller numbers in Cleve- 
land, Baltimore, and other cities, surely the challenge 
to the Episcopal Church rings out with a clear call, 
and our answer, though belated, must be made strong 
and vital. The fact that our mission to these people 
has faded into obscurity, so that they seem a new and 
strange species, emphasizes all the more the import- 
ance of arousing ourselves to the pressing need of the 
moment. The Czechs must be reached by us, or by 
none. They will turn to us again ; why not take them 
now? They have, in the past, turned toward us 
eagerly, yet with diffidence. Have we lost them for- 
ever? 

Three considerations are to be kept in mind if we 
are to do our duty in this mission to the Czechs : 

179 



Neighbors 

Practtcal 1. The English language must be used, 

suggestions f or t h e Czechs in the United States are 
Americans of the Americans. In crowded communi- 
ties the use of bilingual Service books and tracts might 
be of much value for the older and more conservative 
men and women born in Bohemia. But it must be 
remembered that the Czechs were the first of all the 
Slavic immigrants, and they are in their second and 
third generation in this land. 

2. Christianity must be placed before the Czechs in 
its sacramental aspect. Baptism, Confirmation, Holy 
Communion, Marriage — these are the normal func- 
tions of the Church in their eyes. Preaching, if it be 
of a reasoned and practical nature, will reach them; 
but not emotional and fervid exhortation. Morning 
Prayer is utterly confusing to them, with its excessive 
ritual of continually rising, kneeling, and then sitting 
again. The Holy Communion seems simple and makes 
a natural appeal, for they have an instinct of long in- 
heritance for the ministry of the Eucharist. Then, too, 
it must be frankly granted that the altars must be high, 
with candles, and a ritual which they understand as 
sincere and devout. 

3. Our work among the Czechs must be distinctly 
religious. Their own social-service work among their 
own people is far in advance of the institutional work 
of most religious missions, and they do not need this 
form of ministration, indeed they could teach us a 
good deal. The adults have studied the Bible with the 
books of Ingersoll in their hands, and the "higher 
criticism" of the Old Testament is well established 
in their minds. Their skepticism extends also to the 

180 



A Nation Reborn 

New Testament and the Gospel in general, so that Sun- 
day School work among their children, and the presen- 
tation of the Church's message as a whole, must be 
through the faithful administration of the priestly 
office. This means not only the celebration of the 
Sacraments, but the pastoral work of visiting the sick 
in hospitals and homes, caring for the children, and 
having children's festivals in the church on all the 
great festal days of the Christian year. 

So we come finally to the definite and promising 
field of our Church — the conversion of the children to 
primitive Catholic Christianity. What is needed is the 
planting of Sunday Schools, or rather Children's 
Churches, within Czech colonies, with priests in charge 
who understand something of the history of the ancient 
Bohemian Church ; who will be uncontroversial in their 
relations with parents; and who, understanding chil- 
dren and using the English language wholly in their 
work, will minister to them in Children's Eucharists, 
baptizing and preparing them for confirmation in a 
naive way as though there were no thinkable alter- 
native. 

They were, centuries ago, a religious people, and 
in the young this inheritance comes forth in an 
eagerness of hunger and a responsiveness to the Gospel 
that ought to shame us that they are so unshepherded. 
Had we done this a generation ago, we had won many 
thousands. But even now the way is open, and an 
alluring future beckons us on. It may yet be brought 
about that in Bohemia even, due to our enthusiasm and 
loyal espousal of their cause, their ancient national 
Episcopal Church will be re-established (already the 

181 



Neighbors 

start has been made in a demand arising for their own 
language in the Church Services in the new republic of 
Czecho-Slovakia) ; while, in their adopted land here, 
they may become good and consistent communicants 
of our Church. When the chalice is administered to 
a child of the Czechs in Holy Communion in some 
parish church of ours, there rushes over the mind and 
heart of the parent, perhaps in the congregation and, 
if not then, surely at home, the story of the ancient 
chalice of the Czechs, the free Communion of the 
people, and the right of spiritual liberty in the Church 
of Christ. 

A writer describes the scene when Czecho-Slovak 
troops passing through England attended Service re- 
cently in Winchester Cathedral, where their ancient 
enemy, Cardinal Beaufort, lies buried. 

"Thousands of men in strange uniforms with war- 
worn banners passed in slow step into the great cathe- 
dral. Keen men with sad, earnest faces filled the nave. 
When the anthem was ended, the clergy paused, and 
then, in splendid accord, the Czechs sang in their own 
tongue a rendering of our National Anthem, followed 
by their own National Hymn, 'Kde domov mujf 
('Where Is My Home?') The chants they sang with 
their fierce expressive rendering were the war-songs 
of the Hussites. They bore the chalice on their ban- 
ners, and each wore the same chalice on his shoulder 
straps. The chalice signified the right their ancestors 
fought for, to take the cup in the Holy Communion/' 



182 



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CHAPTER VIII 
THE PRAYER-BOOK IN MANY TONGUES 

Members of the Episcopal Church are sometimes 
liable to overlook the implications of two rather im- 
portant historical facts, — first, that their forbears were 
all immigrants themselves, and secondly, that they 
brought with them from the old country a bit of 
leaven wherewith to leaven the lump of their religious 
life and that of their neighbors in the new country. 
This bit of leaven was the Book of Common Prayer, 
which proved not only a bond of union between the 
scattered groups of English immigrants at first, but 
also served as a vehicle of missionary enterprise 
among other immigrants of a later date. Let us look 
at these two sets of facts a little more closely. 

In 1579 the words of the Book of Common Prayer 

were heard for the first time in public worship on this 

continent. In 1607 English Churchmen, 

The Prayer- .<«.,-, -r-» , 1 1 r 

Book Among with their Praver Books, gave thanks for 

the Colonists . , ,. . _ , . ., . 

a safe landing at Jamestown ; and in this 
colony later, the Church of England was established 
by law, and became predominant. Strong congrega- 
tions of our Communion came into existence all along 
the Atlantic seaboard. From the belfry of Christ 
Church, Boston, were hung the signal lanterns of Paul 
Revere. In Trinity Church, Newport, R. I., Berkeley 

183 



Neighbors 

the philosopher preached. In St. Paul's Chapel, New 
York, George Washington's pew may still be seen. 
Benjamin Franklin was a vestryman of Christ Church, 
Philadelphia. Christ Church, Savannah, was the scene 
of Wesley's American labors, and here he organized 
the first Sunday School in the world. The majority 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were 
Prayer-Book Churchmen. 

In view of these facts it was natural that when, 
toward the close of the eighteenth century, it became 
apparent that these English immigrants were destined 
in turn to become responsible for the religious needs 
of other immigrants, they turned to the Prayer-Book 
as a means of communication and approach, using it 
in its original form when possible, and providing trans- 
lated versions when necessary. 

I. The Earlier Immigration 
The French 

The year 1804 witnessed our first foreign-speaking 
congregation — L'Eglise du Saint Esprit, in New York. 
French Organized in 1687 under the polity of 

services the Reformed Church of France and 

Geneva, the parish conformed to our Church in 1804. 
By 1844 a second French congregation was reported. 

In 1834 the French Evangelical Protestant Church 
of New Orleans invited the Rev. Raymond A. Hen- 
derson, a priest of our Church, to minister to them. 
He held Services in French and English, and gathered 
a Sunday School of fifty children where instruction 
was conducted in English, French and Spanish, in a 

184 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

brick church on Rampart and Bienville Streets. The 
parish came into union with the Convention of Louisi- 
ana in 1835 at "L'Eglise de la Resurrection," but did 
not long survive. In 1847 an effort was made to re- 
vive the French work when the Rev. Thomas D. 
Ozanna held Services in Christ Church. A congre- 
gation was organized and admitted into union with 
the Convention the following year under the name 
"L'Eglise Protestante Francaise." The outlook was 
promising according to reports to General Convention, 
but after a decade the work declined. 

In 1871, Services among the French were inaugu- 
rated in Philadelphia where the Rev. Charles T. B. 
Miel organized a congregation, — L'Eglise du Saint 
Sauveur, — of which he continued rector until his death 
in 1902. In 1888, the chapel on 21st Street near Chest- 
nut, gave place to a new building at 22nd and De 
Lancey Streets, the present home of the congregation 
which is under the pastoral care of the Rev. T. D. 
Malan. 

The matter of a French translation of the Prayer- 
Book was under consideration as far back at 1817. 
a French * n 1831, a translation received the im- 

prayer-Book primatur of the Bishop of New York. 
The subject was repeatedly discussed in General Con- 
vention. It was stated that the poor translation was 
an obstacle to the extension of the Church among the 
French-speaking people. In 1883 the question was 
raised whether a French edition would serve any 
practical purpose, inasmuch as our total French work 
was represented by one congregation in New York and 
one in Philadelphia. By this date the French had 

185 



Neighbors 

ceased to be a factor in our immigration, and the young 
generation had naturally found their way into English- 
speaking congregations. 

The Germans 

We are accustomed to say that the Church follows 

the flag. It is equally true that the Church follows 

the Immigrant. In 1835 a memorial was 

German presented to General Convention from 

Translations * 

several clergy west of the Alleghenies, 
in regard to a translation of the Prayer-Book into 
German. This date is exactly coincident with the 
rising tide of German immigration from 1830 to 1840, 
which reached its highest point in the decade 1850-60. 
German immigration set its face toward the farm-lands 
of the West, and it is to the infinite credit of those 
clergy west of the Alleghenies, that they were fully 
awake to the Church's missionary possibilities. The 
matter of the German translation was under frequent 
consideration. At one time the committee called to 
its assistance a professor in Columbia College. The 
task had its vicissitudes. A translation was made by 
Dr. Falk, but the manuscript in some way was lost. 
In 1874 the committee reported the successful prosecu- 
tion of the edition with the help of the Rev. G. F. 
Seigmund, who had the advice of the best scholars 
of Germany. 

In 1872 certain ministers of the German Evangelical 
Synod of the West, presented a memorial to the House 
of Bishops on work among the German population, 
suggesting the consecration of a German as Bishop, 
and expressing a desire to become part of our Church. 

186 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

The Bishops realized fully the difficulty of work among 
people devoted to their hereditary ideas, and having 
few points of social contact, sympathy and religious 
concord with us. They recommended efforts to in- 
crease the number of our German clergy and to turn 
the attention of German youth to our theological semi- 
naries. They gave hearty expression of interest in the 
German people and commended the subject to the 
Board of Missions. "It would be short-sighted policy," 
they wrote, "to neglect the energetic, hardy children 
of Teutonic stock who are becoming Americans so 
rapidly and are already a power in the Republic." 

With the decrease in the number of German immi- 
grants there has been less call for German congrega- 
The Reasons tions - Tne younger generation demand 
ForFaiiu-« English. Even the German Lutheran 
churches are forced to arrange Services and instruc- 
tion in the English tongue, in order to hold their 
younger constituency. 

There appears to be no German-speaking congrega- 
tion on our list today. Former centres have been aban- 
doned. There was a German church in Newark, N. J., 
— St. Matthew's, with a small endowment, but it has 
been changed to an English congregation. At one time 
several New York churches carried on German work — 
St. Augustine's, St. Thomas' Chapel, St. Bartholo- 
mew's Chapel, and Holy Cross; but changes in the 
neighborhoods forced suspension. St. Bartholomew's 
gave up the German Services in 1915 because the con- 
gregation had dwindled. Holy Cross did a large work 
for a decade beginning in 1881 among the tenement 
population of the east side which consisted mainly of 

187 



Neighbors 

Germans ; but the character of the population changed 
radically when a great tide of Jewish immigrants 
swept in. 

Good work is being carried on by certain parishes 
so situated geographically as to be in touch with Teu- 
tonic people. Notable instances are Adams, and East 
Cambridge, Mass.; and Middletown, Conn. The suc- 
cess of such work will depend largely on the attitude 
and interest of the rector, and his ability to minister 
to the religious needs of a German population. 

Hebrews 

In 1844, a petition was presented to General Con- 
vention from some Hebrews, asking our Church to 
The liturgy make provision for Christian Services 
in Hebrew among their race. The memorial bore 
the signatures of Joseph Levon, David Lieven, Jacob 
Goodman, and Charles Allershiner. It is significant 
that this was a call from Jews on behalf of their kin. 
The matter was referred by General Convention to 
the Committee on the Prayer-Book, and there it has 
rested since. A translation into Hebrew, of parts of 
the English Liturgy, was printed in 1833, with the 
title, in literal translation: "Order of the prayers of 
Israel, of those who believe in Jesus the Messiah: 
Translated from the English language into the sacred 
language." A Hebrew version of the English Prayer- 
Book was issued in 1837 by the London Society jot 
Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, and proved 
most useful in the work of missionaries of the Society. 

Jewish immigration is very large and the Hebrews 
themselves do much for their kin, but enormous num- 

188 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

bers are untouched by the synagogue. The chapters 
in An American in the Making* which outline the au- 
thor's drift from faith into atheism, represent a very 
common experience. The Jew has suffered such in- 
justice at the hands of Christians, that he does not 
readily respond to our advances. For many years our 
Church had a society for the propagation of Chris- 
tianity amongst Hebrews, but the result was not en- 
couraging. Perhaps our efforts can best be directed 
toward cultivating a more just and sympathetic atti- 
tude toward God's ancient people. Sympathetic work 
is being carried on among the Jews in Philadelphia, 
with some measure of response. On the whole, how- 
ever, there seems to be no sufficient reason for any 
concerted propaganda directed toward the Jews spe- 
cifically. In large Jewish centres, the "liberals" drift 
into our churches and frequently are found in our 
Confirmation classes. 

The Welsh 

In 1844, the need of a version of the Prayer-Book 
in the Welsh language was considered. Perhaps the 
Welsh element in the mining communities suggested 
a possible field of work. In 1853 the matter was re- 
ported adversely, on the grounds that a slowing up in 
the stream of Welsh immigrants was apparent; that 
German and French immigration was becoming domi- 
nant; and that the Church of England Prayer-Book 
in Welsh offered a sufficient vehicle of worship and 
instruction among this people if need should arise. 



*An American in the Making. Ravage. Harper & Bros., 
New York, 1917. 

189 



Neighbors 

Opinions differ as to the opportunity for distinc- 
tively Welsh Services on the part of the Episcopal 

Church. Some years ago, the Rev. J. 

Wynne Jones, now of Massachusetts, 
had a Welsh congregation in Chicago and later in con- 
nection with Trinity Church, Boston. The Services 
were conducted in Welsh, but, though successful at 
the time, in neither case did any permanent organiza- 
tion result. The Rev. R. E. Jones, D.D., Canon of 
the Cathedral in New York, calls attention to the fact 
that the Welsh were represented among the early foun- 
ders of this Republic, in the persons of William Penn, 
Roger Williams, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. 
Welsh immigrants formed large colonies in central 
New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kansas. 
The Welsh are markedly bi-lingual ; that is, they 
all speak both English and Welsh; but they are ex- 
ceedingly tenacious of their own language, and the 
persistency with which Church parishes in Wales 
have been supplied with only English-speaking clergy 
has been one of the chief factors in alienating the 
Welsh from the Church. 

A large number o<f Welsh immigrants are now or- 
ganized into Welsh-speaking Presbyterian or "Calvin- 
istic Methodist" congregations, and it would appear 
that the Anglican communion is suffering the conse- 
quences of lost opportunities. However, the Rev. H. 
D. Jones, a former prominent Calvinistic-Methodist 
minister, now a priest of the Episcopal Church, after 
a careful survey of the whole field, is strongly of the 
opinion that there are many localities, especially in New 
York State, where there is abundant opportunity and an 

190 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

urgent need for a direct appeal to the Welsh on the 
part of the Episcopal Church. Dr. Jones has re- 
cently been appointed to the task of meeting this 
opportunity. 

The Scandinavians 

In 1847, Bishop Kemper called attention to a drift 

of Swedes and Norwegians into Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Among the Norwegians, two congrega- 

Danish 

tions had been organized by the Rev. 
Gustav Unonius. The Convention of 1847 consid- 
ered the expediency of a Danish version of the Prayer- 
Book owing to the increasing Scandinavian immigra- 
tion. Such a version would prove especially useful 
among Norwegians since the language of Denmark 
and Norway are the same, written alike but pro- 
nounced differently. Three years later Bishop Kemper 
again emphasized the importance of Norwegian work, 
and as late as 1883 the translation of the Prayer-Book 
into Norwegian was brought before General Conven- 
tion by the Bishop of Minnesota, but without result. 
In 1869, the question of a Scandinavian translation 
of the Prayer-Book again came to the front, this time 

in Swedish form. This date coincides 

Swedish . .«-.,. . . 

with the stream of Swedish immigration 
which became very marked after the close of the Civil 
War. Of our work among the earlier racial elements, 
the Swedish alone has stood the test of time. It has 
taken firm root. In 1895, we had twenty Swedish con- 
gregations with seven clergy and 2,530 communicants ; 
and in 1898, the Swedish clergy presented a memorial to 
General Convention, pointing out the great opportunity 

191 



Neighbors 

for Church extension among their race. The present 
status and opportunities of work among the Scandi- 
navians have been shown to be worthy of special con- 
sideration in this book. 

Such, then, is the scanty record of our Church's at- 
tempts to minister to a few of the earlier immigrant 
races through the medium of the Book of Common 
Prayer, translated into their respective tongues. These 
attempts have been dilatory and inadequate. The re- 
sults might have been different had the scope of the 
work been limited, and if, at least primarily, the Office 
of the Holy Communion alone had been provided in 
the languages of the new-comers. 

II. The Later Immigration 

The Bohemians 

A translation of the Prayer-Book by the Czechs 
themselves, in 1855, represents the reaching forth 
»«.„«. toward our Church of the little stream of 

Tne Czechs 

Again Bohemian immigration which, beginning 

at that early period, was destined, as we have seen, to 
become a mighty flood. It was a proper instinct, and 
had it been taken up, the Church would have been 
better prepared to meet the present situation. In a 
preceding chapter we have seen the opportunity, — a 
people readily approachable, of Catholic tradition, 
largely unchurched, rapidly drifting into infidelity. 
There is no present need of a translation of the 
Prayer-Book into the Czech language, since the Amer- 
ican Czechs want English Services only. There is, 

193 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

however, a demand for simple, bi-lingual tracts set- 
ting forth the claims of religion and of the Church in 
this Christian land, for the benefit of recent arrivals. 
It is earnestly to be hoped that the Church will see 
the magnitude of this opportunity of reaching these 
thoroughly American but unchurched people, and 
grasp it boldly while the time is ripe. 

The Latin Tongues 

About the same time that the Prayer-Book was 
translated into Czech, the need of a translation into 
Spanish Spanish was considered, with a view to 

and Italian t h e opening of work in Cuba, Mexico, 
and South America. The horizon of the Church's mis- 
sionary endeavor was widening. By 1859, manuscripts 
of both Spanish and Portuguese versions are reported. 

In 1874, a translation into Italian was considered, 
and was successfully completed some years later by 
Professor Nash of Hobart College. Later material of 
this nature has already been referred to. 

The Poles and Lithuanians 

Very recently, within the past three years, the Lit- 
urgy of our Church has been translated into Polish by 
the Rev. J. O. Pienionzek, and is in use in two con- 
gregations in Philadelphia. 

Poland has loomed large in the annals of the present 
war. The fate of Poland was one of the supreme is- 
a sturdy sues at Vienna in 1814; it was one of 

Race the most delicate questions at the recent 

Peace Conference. 

193 



Neighbors 

Poland stood once among the most powerful coun- 
tries of Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Car- 
pathians and the Black Sea, holding sway over Baltic 
Slavs, Lithuanians, White Russians and Ruthenians. 

The valor of the Polish King, John Sobieski, saved 
Vienna from the Turks in 1682. His army brought 
relief to the beleagured city which welcomed him as 
its deliverer. A Te Deum was sung in the great cathe- 
dral, and the Archbishop delivered a sermon from the 
text, "There was a man sent from God whose name 
was John." A curious reminiscence of this defeat of 
the armies of the Crescent, lingers in the crescent- 
shaped bread, familiarly known as "Vienna rolls." A 
brave Pole, Kulczycki, obtained permission to open a 
coffee house, the first of its kind in Vienna, and he 
served rolls in the shape of a crescent to commemorate 
the victory over the Turkish hosts. In the Cracow 
Cathedral is a red marble statue of Sobieski with fig- 
ures of kneeling Turks. 

But Poland fell a prey to the intrigues of the rapa- 
cious Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Catherine 
of Russia; and the third partition, in 1795, removed 
it altogether from the map. Austria secured Galicia; 
Prussia got Posen ; and Warsaw fell to Russia. 

Poland and Lithuania have been historically closely 
united since 1386 when the Lithuanian Prince Jagiello 
j, he married a Polish princess, bringing the 

Lithuanians tw0 countries under the same dynasty. 
Lithuania is a thinly settled land of vast forests in 
northeastern Poland. The people are not Poles, neither 
are they Slavs or Teutons, but a separate Aryan race. 
Tall and blue-eyed they dwelt along the upper Niemen, 

194 







2 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

related to the Letts in about the same way as the 
Dutch are related to the Germans. The Lithuanians 
claim that their language is the most ancient in Europe, 
intimately connected with Sanskrit. They were the 
last of the nations to be converted to Christianity, re- 
maining pagan until the beginning of the thirteenth cen- 
tury. In 1569 Lithuania was merged completely with 
Poland. 

We have had a large Lithuanian immigration in re- 
cent years. The great war has aroused the conscious- 
ness of nationality, and Lithuania declared her inde- 
pendence on January 8, 1918, with her ethnic brothers, 
the Letts and Samogitians. 

Individual Poles came here one at a time from an 
early date. Americans are not unmindful of the help 
rendered us by brave Poles in the early days of our 
nation's trials. Kosciusko, a Pole, was a master of 
the science of fortification, and the principal engineer 
in the construction of West Point. He met Franklin 
in Paris, and, in 1776, sailed for America bearing a 
letter to Washington. He proceeded to Washington's 
headquarters, and in answer to the inquiry, "What do 
you seek?" he made reply, "I come to fight as a volun- 
teer for American Independence." Savannah remem- 
bers gratefully the gallant Pulaski. A monument to 
his memory describes him as the "heroic Pole who fell 
mortally wounded fighting for American liberty at the 
siege of Savannah, 9th October, 1779." 

The unrest in Poland in 1831 and 1863 resulted in 
an influx of permanent settlers into the United States. 
Polish I n 1*^5 there was a Polish colony in 

immigration Texas. The war between Austria and 

195 



Neighbors 

Prussia in 1866 caused a tide of immigration from 
Poland. In the '70s the Polish immigration increased 
rapidly. In the decade ending 1916, immigration rec- 
ords register 326,349 Poles entering the United States. 
The word "Pole" is the Slavonic for "field worker," 
and many Polish immigrants have found their way into 
agricultural life on the farms of New England, Long 
Island and elsewhere. Some girls enter domestic serv- 
ice, but the larger proportion of immigrants is claimed 
for manufacturing or mining interests. Chicago, De- 
troit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Cleveland are Jarge 
Polish centres. 

The earliest direct contact of our Church with the 
Poles was in 1901 when Bishop Anthony Kozlowski 
sent a memorial to the House of Bishops declaring his 
acceptance of the Chicago-Lambeth platform and seek- 
ing inter-communion with us. 

Kozlowski, while still a priest of the Roman Cath- 
olic Church in Poland, came to this country as assistant 
of a Polish church in Chicago. Here he seceded from 
the Roman obedience and, in 1895, he was elected 
Bishop of a number of Polish congregations which also 
had proven restless under the Church of Rome. In 
1896, at a Council of the "Old Catholic" Church* at 
Berne, Switzerland, he was consecrated by Archbishop 
Gul of Utrecht, Bishop Herzog of Berne and Bishop 
Weber of Bonn. Returning to this country, Bishop 
Kozlowski spent the ten years of his episcopate in or- 
ganizing the Old Catholic movement in the United 
States and Canada. In 1901 his constituency num- 
bered 80,000 members in twenty-five organized parishes 



*See Appendix, Note N. 

196 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

chiefly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and 
New Jersey. In that year Bishop Kozlowski addressed 
a memorial to the House of Bishops declaring his ac- 
ceptance of the Chicago-Lambeth plat- 
Koziowski's form and asking recognition by the Epis- 
copal Church, on the ground that, "The 
Polish race is very numerous (in the United States). 
Multitudes of them are leaving their faith, and unless 
something is done, they will go into infidelity." The 
matter was referred to a Committee, postponed, and 
again referred. Finally the House of Bishops adopted 
a resolution declining to recognize the Old Catholic 
Church, but extending to Bishop Kozlowski "their 
Christian salutations and assurances of affectionate 
sympathy and interest in his work."* 

Again in 1910, the Poles came to the attention of our 
Church through the House of Bishops. Certain dis- 
affected elements among the Polish Ro- 

The "Polish _ , „ . fe 

National man Catholics met in convention at 

Scranton, Pa., in September, 1904. As a 
result, a number of Polish congregations combined to 
form the "Polish National Church," and elected, as 
their Bishop, the Rev. Francis Hodur who was later 
consecrated by three of the Old Catholic Bishops of 
Holland. The Church Services were ordered to be 
translated from Latin into Polish, and the Roman 
Church was formally repudiated as "the sole exponent 
of the true doctrines of Christ." It was this Church 
which, in 1910, presented a communication to the 



♦See Bishop Grafton's A Journey Godward, Chap. XIV. 
(The Morehouse Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1910.) 

197 



Neighbors 

House of Bishops in regard to friendly relations with 
the Episcopal Church. 

This Polish National Church is growing in influence 
among the people. Bishop Hodur has his headquarters 
in Seranton, Pa., where a visit to his church and school 
reveals the magnitude of the work, and the splendidly 
equipped property of St. Stanislaus Parish which shows 
admirable organization. There are at present forty- 
seven parishes under Bishop Hodur's jurisdiction. The 
largest one, numerically, is in Buffalo, N. Y. 

But the Polish work has come even closer to us. 
For the past three years we have had our own definite 
Polish Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Pennsyl- 
vania has a Commission on work among Polish immi- 
grants, composed of twenty members and receiving 
financial support from the Convention. This com- 
mission is maintaining work among the 
polish Poles. There are two congregations. 

The first was organized about three years 
ago and worships in the old Church of the Evangelist, 
7th and Catherine Streets, Philadelphia; it will move 
soon to the Church of the Advent. The priest in charge 
is the Rev. Joseph O. Pieniazek, an Austrian Pole 
who, after eight years' residence here, studied for Or- 
ders, and was ordained three years ago by Bishop 
Rhinelander. He has as lay-reader, John Jasinski, a 
Lithuanian Pole, able to speak in the Lithuanian 
tongue. The name of the Church is Holy Cross. 

The second congregation, started about a year ago, 
meets in Philadelphia at the Church of the Messiah, 
Huntingdon and Thompson Streets, and ministers to 
the district about Cramp's ship yards, a section largely 

198 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

inhabited by Poles — prosperous, well-to-do mechanics. 
The priest is the Rev. J. O. Panfil, lately received from 
the Church of Rome by Bishop Rhinelander. Father 
Panfil has a parochial school of fifty children. At a 
recent visitation by the Bishop, a class of thirty-three 
children and adults received confirmation. In both 
congregations the Prayer-Book is used in Polish trans- 
lation. 

The Reverend Elliott White says: "The Poles are 
intensely Catholic, but anti-papal rather than otherwise. 
The Roman hierarchy is almost entirely opposed to 
national aspirations. There are two political parties; 
the one desiring national independence under a king, 
and with the Roman Catholic State religion ; the other 
also desiring national independence, but preferring a 
republic, and being quite adverse to a State religion. 
Our congregations are recruited from the latter 
party." The Episcopal Tract Society has just issued, 
in Polish, a tract on the Episcopal Church. 

The Hungarians 

On August 16, 1915, there appeared a modest little 
booklet bearing the imprimatur of Bishop Matthews 
origin and °* New J ersev > an d containing a transla- 
mstory t j on f our Communion office into Mag- 

yar. This is perhaps the most recent attempt to trans- 
late the Prayer-Book into a foreign tongue, and it in- 
troduces us to a new missionary enterprise among a 
very ancient race. 

The Magyars are a non-Aryan people of Asiatic 
origin. They number some four million and a half 
and are the dominant ruling class in Hungary which 

199 



Neighbors 

occupies the rich fields of Pannonia, the name given 
by the Romans to the fertile plain of the Danube which 
in the time of Augustus was made a province of the 
Roman Empire. In the ninth century the Magyars ap- 
peared, — frightful, riding on fleet horses, bent on plun- 
der. An old legend makes them descendents of Nim- 
rod who had two sons, Hunyor and Magyar. Emerg- 
ing from the banks of the Volga, they moved westward 
under the lead of Arpad who laid the foundations of 
their kingdom. Having exterminated the Slavic popu- 
lation of the country now known as Hungary, they con- 
tinued their course into Western Europe. The tenth 
century chronicles are filled with dire pictures, and 
the litany rang with the supplication, "From the Hun- 
gars protect us, Oh, Lord!" In 955, Otto I of Ger- 
many defeated them at Lechfeld, near Augsburg, and 
before the close of the century, Hungary accepted 
Christianity, and made rapid advancement in social 
and political order. In the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries, Hungary was one of the most powerful States 
of Europe. It suffered much, however, from Turkish 
attacks, and in 1526 at Mohacs, the Hungarians suf- 
fered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Sultan 
Sulyman, which eventually led to the partition of the 
Magyar territory between Hungary, Austria and Tur- 
key, the larger part going to Austria; In 1848, under 
the lead of Louis Kossuth, the Magyars made a bold 
stand on behalf of independence. This movement 
elicited warm sympathy in the United States. When 
Hulseman resented American sympathy with the Hun- 
garian revolt, Daniel Webster, who was Secretary of 
State, declared in no uncertain terms, the right of 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

Americans to sympathize with the efforts of any nation 
to acquire liberty. With Russia's assistance, the Aus- 
trians put down the uprising; Kossuth fled, and Hun- 
gary became a restive, though locally independent, part 
of the Austrian Empire, with no love for the Slav, and 
little regard for the rights of dependent peoples within 
her borders, as we have seen in the case of the Slovaks 
of northern Hungary. 

The Magyars have come here in Jarge numbers since 
1900, and are found in mining, steel and iron industry. 
They are largely Roman Catholic in religion. 

Five years ago the Bishop of Michigan City received 

an entire congregation of Hungarians — Trinity Church, 

South Bend, Ind. "I have confirmed 

Our Contact , , , , .. ,, 

more than one hundred children, says 
Bishop White, "and found the congregation, young 
and old, respectful, obedient and devout. Just now 
I am caring for them myself until I can find a suitable 
priest to put over them. It is most pathetic to have 
young and old gather around me in tears, and beg me 
to give them an American priest who would train up 
the children and celebrate for them every Sunday. 
The older people do not understand English very well, 
but so long as the Service is the Celebration of the 
Holy Communion, even though it be in English, they 
know what it all means, and are most devout through 
it all. The children read, respond and sing nicely, and 
can generally be trained to take all the responses in 
English, and can teach and lead their elders to whom 
they can make the explanation in Hungarian." 

Almost simultaneously with the movement in In- 



Neighbors 

diana, occurred a similar movement of Magyars toward 
our Church in New Jersey. 

In 1914, a considerable number of Hungarians ap- 
plied to the Rev. Horace T. Owen, rector of St. Paul's 
a stimulating Church, Trenton, for spiritual care and 
opportunity ministrations. This resulted in the estab- 
lishment of a parochial mission for Hungarians in St. 
Paul's parish. In January, 1915, George Elbert St. 
Claire, a Hungarian by birth, was licensed as a lay 
reader for this work, and weekly Services were held 
in St. Paul's Church. Progress was slow, because a 
very small percentage of the adults could speak or 
understand English. To meet this difficulty, the lay 
reader established a free evening school in St. Paul's 
parish house to teach English to the Hungarians. He 
also undertook the translation of the Prayer-Book into 
Magyar. In 1915 there was published the Order for 
the celebration of the Holy Communion in Hungarian 
referred to above. Mr. St. Claire was ordained deacon 
in June, 1916, and the following November the work 
was organized as a diocesan mission under the title 
of St. Elizabeth's Magyar Mission, named after St. 
Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew II, King of Hungary, 
one of the patron saints of the Hungarian people. Mr. 
St. Claire was advanced to the priesthood on Christ- 
mas Eve, 1916, the first Hungarian to receive Holy 
Orders in the American Church. The work has been 
seriously handicapped by not having its own fixed 
centre of worship. The Mission has had four changes 
of location in less than three years and a half. The 
register of the Mission on September 1, 1918, shows 
128 baptized persons, 78 communicants and 18 con- 

203 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

firmations. The constituency is recruited from Roman 
Catholics and Greek Uniats. 

Mr. St. Claire, who supplies these facts, believes that 
the outlook for our work among Magyars is good. It 
must be conducted along the lines of social service at 
first, and the missionary must often combine the func- 
tions of interpreter, information-bureau, lawyer, peace- 
maker, nurse and priest. Mr. St. Claire stresses the 
great need of Church literature in the English and 
Magyar languages in parallel columns. 

If our Church takes up this work in earnest, we 
must make up our minds that success involves a con- 
siderable financial outlay. We cannot expect our mis- 
sionaries to make bricks out of straw. The whole 
Church must stand back of them with generous equip- 
ment and ample provision for all that is necessary to 
the task of reaching effectively the large Magyar popu- 
lation in the eastern United States. 

The Rumanians 

Announcement is made from Philadelphia that a 
Rumanian Orthodox congregation is asking to be 
taken provisionally under the charge of our Church. 
There has heretofore never been any occasion for a 
Rumanian version of the Prayer Book because the 
Rumanians are, as a rule, staunch adherents of the 
Orthodox Church. 

These ancient people, occupying territory on the 
banks of the Danube, and claiming descent from the 
Roman legionaries and colonists of the Emperor Tra- 
jan's day, are known to Americans chiefly through the 
writings of "Carmen Sylva," the pen-name of Elizabeth 

203 



Neighbors 

of Wied, the late Queen of Rumania. They are 
among the latest of our immigrant races. 

Rumanian immigration began in a small way in 
1893. It increased steadily, however, until their num- 
bers are now estimated at 250,000. They 

Immigration . . .. J 

are settled chiefly in the cities of the 
mid- West, where they find employment in the metal 
industries. There are about twenty Orthodox Ru- 
manian churches in the United States. 

So recently have the Rumanians come amongst us 
that our Church has had but slight contact with them, 
but the announcement from Philadelphia, above re- 
ferred to, indicates that we may yet have a very 
definite responsibility toward these Eastern Orthodox 
Christians. The congregation in question is composed 
of Rumanians by race, though politically they were 
Hungarians from the frontier district of Banat. Their 
case is a peculiar one. The Rev. E. S. Lane of St. 
a Tentative John's Church, Northern Liberties, Phil- 
Approach adelphia, in whose Parish House this 
Rumanian congregation is worshipping, after stating 
that they have cast off their Hungarian allegiance and 
have organized independently of the Orthodox Epis- 
copate in Hungary, writes as follows : "They intend 
to remain independent of the Bishop of Arad (their 
Hungarian Bishop) until it is determined what is to 
become of the district of Banat. If it is given to 
Rumania, they will ask to be reinstated ; if it remains 
Hungarian, they will be independent." In the latter 
case, there seems a possibility of this congregation 
accepting the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Pennsyl- 
vania, while permitted to retain their own rite. Mr. 

204 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

Lane writes that there is the closest relation between 
his congregation and these Rumanians, the children 
of the latter coming to Sunday School and receiving 
instruction from their own people. This is a striking 
instance, not only of the cordial relations which might 
be made efficient between the Eastern Orthodox 
Church and our own, but also of the peculiar interest 
which members of the Episcopal Church have in the 
reconstruction of European boundary lines. 

III. Oriental Churchmen 
The Chinese 

The Chinese introduce an element distinct from all 
others, in both old and new immigration. 

They represent an ancient and far-famed civiliza- 
tion. Isaiah mentions the "land of Sinim," which 
scholars identify with China. In the sixth century 
Nestorian missionaries carried the Faith into China. 
Marco Polo stirred the mediaeval imagination with 
tales of the Far East. Cathay was a synonym for 
wealth and magnificence. The search for a short route 
to Cathay was an impelling motive in American dis- 
covery and exploration. 

Chinese civilization is based on ancestor worship 
which gives conservatism to the social and political 
system, explains the devotion to locality and custom 
which is so marked among the people, and registers 
itself in the desire of the Chinese, even in America, 
to be buried finally in the home soil. 

The Chinese arrived on our Pacific coast in the 
early 50's with the motley procession that was making 

205 



Neighbors 

Chinese * ts wa y t0 ^e & ^ fields. As their 

immigration numbers increased, they entered a variety 
of occupations — gardening, laundering, domestic serv- 
ice. They engaged in salmon-canning in the North- 
west, and found employment in the orchards, vine- 
yards, and hop-fields of California, where their great 
capacity for continuous work made them a valuable 
asset. Industrious, thrifty, even-tempered, strictly 
honest, working patiently early and late through long 
hours at outdoor tasks, quiet, contented, reliable, 
trustworthy, the Chinaman was welcomed by Gov- 
ernors, Mayors, and Editors. His coming excited no 
concern, and his labor was a factor in the develop- 
ment of California, and the construction of the trans- 
continental railroads. With the growing opposition 
toward foreigners, which became pronounced in our 
politics in the '50s, the Chinese were marked for 
attack. The intensity of race prejudice and keen econ- 
omic rivalry and jealousy fell heavily on these un- 
offending people. Anti-Chinese agitation gained mo- 
mentum. Chinamen were often stoned, robbed and 
maltreated in the streets by hoodlums. Rioters sacked 
and burned their dwellings. The unthinking mob 
blamed their presence as the cause of drought, the 
failure of mines, the decline of stocks. Although heavy 
tax-payers, the Chinese had neither a voice in legis- 
lation nor adequate protection of our laws. It was 
charged that they were crowding American labor out 
of employment. They clung tenaciously to their na- 
tional costume, and dwelt in segregation in their own 
quarter. The strong hostility finally registered itself 
in the Exclusion Act of 1882 which reduced their 

206 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

numbers, and eliminated them as a factor in immi- 
gration. 

In 1871, General Convention adopted a resolution 
instructing the Board of Missions to inquire as to 
Early means and agencies for religious work 

converts among the large number of Chinese then 

residing on our shores, particularly on the Pacific. 
From the very beginning of Chinese immigration, our 
Church in San Francisco has been mindful of these 
people. A Chinaman was confirmed in the first class 
presented to Bishop Kip, in 1854. The Rev. Edward 
Syle, an English missionary from Hong Kong, under- 
took evangelistic work among the Chinese in San 
Francisco, but did not meet any large response. In 
1869, a large Chinese Sunday School was reported in 
connection with the Church of the Advent, San Fran- 
cisco. In 1876, a native Chinese convert carried on 
work amongst his countrymen under the Rector of 
Trinity Church. In 1905, Deaconess Drant, who had 
experience in work among the Chinese in Honolulu, 
laid the foundations of the "True Sunshine Mission" 
in San Francisco, which has an offshoot in Oakland. 
It is under the pastoral care of a native priest, Rev. 
Daniel Gee Ng, ordained in 1913, and in both cases 
the Church owns its property. Chinese schools for 
women and children are taught by competent Chinese 
teachers who receive salaries for their work; while 
volunteer teachers maintain English night-schools for 
men, and Saturday sewing-schools. The Holy Com- 
munion is celebrated in Chinese every Sunday morning 
in San Francisco and Oakland, and nearly every com- 
municant is present, though in some cases they come 

207 



Neighbors 

from a distance after all-night work on Saturday. In 
1913, a class of ten men was confirmed in Oakland — 
the largest number of Chinese confirmed at one time 
in America. The membership is also increased by 
communicants transferred from our Missions in 
China.* 

In New York City occasional Services are held in 
the Cathedral for the Chinese, chiefly students at 
Demand Columbia University. Although these 

prayer-Book students all speak English, their desire 
is for Services, especially the Liturgy, in their own 
tongue. Within the last few weeks the Board of 
Missions has been obliged to send to China for a supply 
of Prayer Books to meet this need. 

The Japanese 

The Japanese came into American life later than 
did the Chinese. Japan was opened to the brother- 
hood of nations by Commodore Perry in 1854. Some 
Japanese came here in the '80s, but prior to 1892 there 
was no considerable immigration. The Japanese 
readily adjust themselves to western dress and habits. 
They are ambitious, and seek permanent residence 
here. Many Japanese lads work as domestics, in order 
to attend night school and learn the language. 

Our Church maintains several Missions to the Jap- 
anese with encouraging results. Work has been car- 
ried on steadily in San Francisco for 

Japaneo r-* ■ ™ 

Missions in twenty years. Christ Chapel reports 
thirty-one communicants. St. Mary's 



♦See, The Spirit of Missions, November, 1914, pp. 771-779. 
208 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

Chapel, Los Angeles, under the Rev. J. M. Yamazaki, 
who attained distinction as a scholar at Berkeley Divin- 
ity School, is very prosperous. Bishop Johnson says : 
''We have a splendid property running from street to 
street, upon which there is a Church-house containing 
a community Chapel and also a recreation and amuse- 
ment hall in which we have our kindergarten and to 
which our people come with great regularity for en- 
tertainments, and for such institutional work as we 
have started. In addition, we have an excellent rec- 
tory upon the same ground." The last report of St. 
Mary's shows thirty-five communicants. 

In Sacramento, St. Barnabas' Mission reports thirty 
communicants. The following interesting account of 
the work of this Mission is given by Deaconess L. 
M. Kelton : 

"The first year, English was taught to the Japanese, 
and a society for young Japanese women was formed 
where they were taught millinery, sewing and em- 
broidery. Sunday School Services were also held for 
a mixed number of children — American and Japanese. 
The second year, our numbers in the English classes 
developed into an afternoon school, an evening class, 
and a Bible class for the advanced students. Beginners 
in music were also admitted. To the English classes 
came five doctors, two ministers, some Methodist lay- 
preachers, a student of chemistry and one in pharmacy. 
A number of Korean students applied for admission, 
and were accepted. Students have been placed in po- 
sitions to earn their living while studying. A deaconess 
has had charge of the educational part of the work 
and care of the Mission-house. Two young women 

209 



Neighbors 

volunteered their services as teacher and organist, and 
another devout Churchwoman as teacher in music. 
Three young men have also given volunteer services in 
teaching the young men of the evening school. A 
young Japanese lay-reader has been tireless in helping 
the work wherever he could. The Oriental is very 
unsettled in this country, and we have but few for 
two years in succession, and so, if we wish to establish 
well trained communicants, we are disappointed. Our 
work appears to be just seed-planting. Surrounding 
them on the Pacific Coast, is an unfriendly spirit, and 
until this disappears our Christian work with Orientals 
is bound to be difficult." 

In Seattle there are two centers of Japanese work — 
a Mission-house containing a chapel at 1111 Yesler 
Way, and a Settlement House at King 
and Ninth Streets. Regular Services are 
maintained in Japanese. In one year there were re- 
ported fourteen persons baptized of whom three were 
men, two women; there are thirty-two communicants, 
of whom twenty-four are male; and there is a flour- 
ishing chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, 
numbering ten members. Mr. Genjiro Shoji, the Jap- 
anese lay-reader, is a Candidate for Orders, and carries 
on painstaking pastoral visitation and evangelistic 
work. There is a Sunday School of- forty children, 
and their Lenten Offerings are highly creditable. A 
Bible women is at work among the Japanese women 
and children. "Our converts," says the Rev. Dr. 
Gowen, "have been scattered among the States. I hear 
of them as influences for good in distant logging camps ; 
at work in Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, and, not least, 

210 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

in Japan itself. There is no limit to the possibilities 
of this seed-sowing, and if the future peace of the 
world depends upon the good relations of Japan and 
the United States, it is of inestimable importance that 
we should implant, as speedily as possible, the prin- 
ciples of the Christian Faith in those who are now 
resident in our midst." 



Conclusion 

We have thus sketched in a very brief way, our 
Church's work among the many races who have made 
their homes on America's hospitable shores. We have 
seen how our Church, beginning in this country as 
the Church of English-speaking people, has gradually 
come into touch with people of practically every im- 
migrant race, Occidental and Oriental. We have 
never been zealous to make proselytes from allied 
Churches. Toward the great historic Communions 
of the East we have sought to stand in relations of 
brotherly helpfulness. We have been ready always 
to extend sympathy to those bodies which are striv- 
ing for freedom from the papal yoke, and to en- 
courage reform along sound Catholic lines. Our 
attitude and method of approach differ materially from 
those of the Protestant bodies around us. In general 
we are adverse to the multiplication of separate denom- 
inations. The younger generation are spontaneously 
seeking our ministrations, and the American Church 
is vindicating itself to their own experience as the 
exponent of the noblest ideals of faith, worship and 
practice. 

211 



Neighbors 

But hardly more than a beginning has been made. 
The immigrant races are scattered broadcast through- 
out the land. As we have seen, some tend to concen- 
tration in certain localities, others are more generally 
dispersed ; but everywhere, and especially in our large 
cities, the presence of the immigrant is forced on our 
attention. This contiguity is to be welcomed as the 
Church's opportunity ; in it lies a definite responsibility 
involving every member of the Church. During the 
war, the men of foreign birth or parentage offered 
their lives freely for the ideals upheld by America 
and the other free peoples of the world. It has been 
astonishing to note, in the casualty lists, the large 
preponderance of names of other than Anglo-Saxon 
origin. Loyalty to the United States on the part of 
these our fellow citizens was an outstanding feature 
of the war. The Church owes them sympathetic help- 
fulness. In some cases this will take the form of 
co-operation merely, in others there is sore need of 
establishing them in a new relation toward religious 
truth and practice; but always there must be, on the 
part of Churchmen toward the immigrant, a determined 
effort to understand his point of view, and to make 
allowances for his failure, as a "foreigner," to grasp 
at once the meaning of American ideals. This sympa- 
thetic understanding is essential to the establishing 
of a real point of contact and the gaining of helpful 
access to him and to his children. It is the children 
who are the Americans of the future, and toward 
them we have an unavoidable responsibility and a 
God-given opportunity. 

In order to accept this, but little additional organi- 

212 



The Prayer-Book in Many Tongues 

zation or machinery is essential. What is necessary, 
is the immediate direction of attention and interest, on 
the part of all Church people, toward those of alien 
race within their respective communities, with the ob- 
ject of giving to them the assurance, in practical fash- 
ion, that it is their privilege to be "no more strangers 
and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and 
of the household of God." 



213 



APPENDIX 

NOTE A 

(Page 4) 

REFERENCE BOOKS 

The following list of books is suggested for reading in 
connection with the various chapters in this book. It is 
impossible, of course, within the limits of our space to offer 
a complete bibliography. Only a very few of the available 
books have been selected, but it has been our aim to suggest 
such works as are, (1) directly connected with the topic, 
(2) within a moderate cost, and (3) most likely to be found 
in any well-appointed public library. In a few instances, as, 
for example, Miss Balch's Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, a book 
is recommended which is out of print. In such cases, how- 
ever, the book is one which is presumably in every public 
library. 

Among the books suggested, some are of notable importance. 
Such titles are starred. 

CHAPTER I 

♦Christian Americanization. By Charles A. Brooks, D. D. 

Missionary Education Movement, New York, 1919. 
The Making of an American. By Jacob A. Riis. The 

Macmillan Co., New York, 1904. 
The Promised Land. By Mary Antin. Houghton, Mifflin 

Co., New York, 1912. 
♦Leadership of New America. By Archibald McClure. 

George H. Doran, New York, 1916. 

215 



Appendix 

CHAPTER II 

The New Immigration. By Peter Roberts, Ph. D. The 

Macmillan Co., New York, 1912. 
♦Im migrant Forces. By William P. Shriver. Missionary 

Education Movement, New York, 1913. 
The Immigrant: An Asset and a Liability. By Frederick 

J. Haskin. F. H. Revell Co., New York, 1913. 
The Immigrant and the Community. By Grace Abbott. 

The Century Co., New York, 1917. (Social-Economic.) 
♦Races and Immigrants in America. By John R. Commons. 

The Macmillan Co., New York, 1916. 
Where Our Immigrants Settle. (With excellent statistical 

maps.) F. W. Hewes. The World's Work, Vol. VI, 1903. 



CHAPTER III 

♦Greeks in America. By Thomas Burgess. Sherman, French 

& Co., Boston, 1913. 
♦A Study of the Eastern Orthodox Church. By T. J. 

Lacey, Ph. D. Morehouse Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1912. 
The Greek Orthodox Church. By C. Callinicos. Longmans, 

Green & Co., New York, 1918. 
Greek Life in Town and Country. By W. Miller. George 

Newnes, London, 1915. 
The Sources and Settlement of the Syrians. 
Business Activities of the Syrians. 
Intellectual and Social Status of the. Syrians. 
The Syrian as an American Citizen. 

By Louise S. Houghton, in The Survey, 1911-1912. 
♦Syria and the Holy Land. By George Adam Smith. George 

H. Doran Co., New York, 1918. 
A Far Journey. By A. M. Rihbany. Houghton, Mifflin Co., 

New York, 1914. 
♦The Church of Armenia. By Malachia Ormanian. A. R 

Mowbray & Co., London, 1912. 

216 



Appendix 

CHAPTER IV 

♦Italian Life In Town and Country. By L. Villari. G. P. 

Putnam's Sons, New York, 1902. 
The Social and Religious Life of Italians in America. 

By E. C. Sartorio. Christopher Publishing Co., Boston, 

1918. 
Italian Immigration of Our Times. By R. E. Foerster. 

Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1919. 
♦Protestantism and the Latin Soul. By F. C. Capozzi. 

J. C. Winston Co., Philadelphia, 1918. 



CHAPTER V 

*The Land of the Midnight Sun. By Paul Du Chaillu. 
Harper & Bros., New York, 1881. 

History of the Scandinavians, and Successful Scandi- 
navians in the United States. By O. N. Nelson, Min- 
neapolis. 

The National Church of Sweden. By John Wordsworth, 
D. D. Morehouse Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1911. 

*The Church of Sweden and the Anglican Communion. 
By G. Mott Williams, D. D. Morehouse Publishing Co., 
Milwaukee, 1911. 

*The Scandinavians in the Northwest. The Forum, Vol. 
XIV, pp. 103-109, Sept., 1892. 
The following reference material may be procured, without 

cost, from the Government, or may be consulted in any public 

library. 

Annual Reports of the Commissioner-General of Immi- 
gration. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C 

Scandinavians in America. E. A. Ross. The Century Maga- 
zine, Vol. LXXXVIII, 1914. 

A History of Scandinavian Studies in American Universi- 
ties. S. J. Flom. Bulletin of the State University of 
Iowa, No. 153. 1907. 

217 



Appendix 

CHAPTER VI 

Russia of the Russians. By H. W. Williams, Ph. D., Charles 

Scribner's Sons, New York, 1914. 
Conquests of the Russian Church. By J. A. S. Edwards. 

Soc. Pro. Chr. Knowl., London, 1917. 
*Russia in Transformation. By A. J. Brown, D. D. F. H. 

Revell Co., New York, 1917. 
*Russia and Reunion. By C. R. Davey Biggs, D. D. Young 

Churchman Co., Milwaukee. 
Servia of the Servians. By C. Miyatovic. Chas Scribner's 

Sons, New York, 1911. 
*Our Slavic Fellow Citizens. By Emily G. Balch. New 

York, 1910. 
The Danger Zone of Europe. By H. C. Woods. Little, 

Brown & Co., Boston, 1911. 
Fifty Years in Bulgaria. A pamphlet published by the 

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 

Congregational House, Boston, 1911. 
*The Balkans. By Wm. M. Sloane. Methodist Book Con- 
cern, New York, 1914. 



CHAPTER VII 

*Our Slavic Fellow Citizens. By Emily G. Balch. New 

York, 1910. 
*Bohemia and the Czechs. By W. S. Monroe. Boston, 

1910. 
Cechs (Bohemians) in America. By T. Capek. Houghton 

Mifflin Co., New York, 1919. 



CHAPTER VIII 

*The Promised Land. By Mary Antin. Houghton Miflin Co., 

New York, 1912. 
An American in the Making. By M. E. Ravage. Harper 

& Bros., New York, 1917. 

218 



Appendix 

♦Chinese Immigration. By M. R. Coolidge, Ph. D. Henry 

Holt & Co., New York, 1909. 
The Chinaman As We See Him. By I. M. Condit, D. D. 

F. H. Revell Co., New York, 1900. 
The American- Japanese Problem. By S. L. Gulick. Chas. 

Scribner's Sons, New York, 1914. 
♦America and the Orient. By S. L. Gulick. Missionary 

Education Movement, New York, 1916. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

*The Races of Europe. By E. A. Grosvenor. The National 
Geographic Magazine, December, 1918. 

*The Resurrected Nations. By I. D. Levine. F. A. Stokes 
Co., New York, 1919. 

Dictionary of Races or Peoples. U. S. Senate Document 
No. 662, (Report of Immigration Commission, 1911). Now 
out of print, but probably to be found in public libraries. 

♦Nations in Rebirth. A series of articles recently published 
in The Literary Digest. 

♦The People of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, The 
Separated Churches of the East, and Other Slavs. 
Report of the Commission on Various Races, Province of 
New England, 1913. 25 cents. Apply to Educational De- 
partment, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York. 

United States Religious Census Report, 1906. (A history 
of every racial Church in the United States.) 

♦The Book of Common Prayer Among the Nations of the 
World. By William Muss-Arnoldt, D. D. Soc. Prom. Chr. 
Knowl., London, 1914. 



219 



Appendix 
NOTE B 

(Page 6) 

The following facts and figures give some idea of the 
magnitude of the immigration problem. 

There are, in the United States, approximately 15,000,000 
people of foreign birth or parentage, representing thirty-five 
races, and speaking fifty-four languages. They compose more 
than one half of the population in the States of Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North and South 
Dakota, (Montana, and Utah. Of the foreign born 72% live 
in the cities. 

During the ten years 1870-1880, nearly 74% of our immigra- 
tion came from northern Europe, and about 7% from 
southern Europe. During the last decade, the corresponding 
figures are 22% and 72%. These figures indicate the profound 
change which has come over the currents of immigration in 
recent years. 

During the ten years preceding the Great War, we admitted 
more than 2,000,000 immigrants, over fourteen years of age, 
who were illiterates, and there are at present in the United 
States, 8,500,000 persons over ten years old — more than one- 
twelfth of the whole population — who can neither write nor 
read in any language whatever. This includes 30% of the 
negro population. In the rural districts, 10% of the population 
are illiterates. Out of the first two million drafted soldiers, 
10% could not read their orders or understand them when 
delivered or read the letters sent from home, and, according 
to the Surgeon General's report, one drafted man in every four 
was unable to read or write. 

The danger inherent in this condition of affairs becomes 
apparent when we consider that the non-English-speaking per- 
sons in the United States could out-vote the combined popu- 
lation of New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia, or of 

220 



Appendix 



any State in the Union except New York. The foreign-born 
illiterate, if allowed to remain so. is a constant menace to our 
institutions, since he is shut away from other Americans, and 
becomes an easy prey for all kinds of agitators who speak 
his own language. 

There is now before 'Congress a bill known as the Smith- 
Bankhead Americanization bill which is designed to ameliorate 
this intolerable condition by co-operative action on the part of 
the Federal and State Governments in teaching English to 
illiterates and non-English-speaking people over ten years of 
age. The bill provides for an appropriation of $12,500,000 a 
year until 1920, this money to be apportioned among the 
States with the proviso that each State is to receive its quota 
only on the condition that it matches the contribution dollar 
for dollar. 

It is evident that the enactment of such legislation provides 
the Church with a new opportunity of unparalleled significance. 
It is for the Church to co-operate loyally in this undertaking, 
and to see to it that definite religious instruction proceeds hand 
in hand with the secular education to be provided by the 
State. Indeed, the whole Americanization programme of the 
Government should be watched with scrupulous attention by 
every Churchman. 



221 



Appendix 

NOTE G 

(Page 29) 

The following, quoted from The Churchman of December 
28th, 1918, is of special interest. 

"The Bureau of Education of the Department of the Interior 
has asked for the co-operation of the churches, in the Amer- 
icanization of immigrants. Every pastor in the country has 
received a return postcard asking for information in regard 
to the foreignHborn in his parish. Our Board of Missions 
has chosen Immigration as the subject for mission study in 
1919-20. It is an appropriate time. With the end of the war 
an influx of immigrants from Europe may possibly be ex- 
pected. 

Although since 1914 immigration has naturally fallen off, we 
know that from 1900 to 1910 half a million more newcomers 
than the total population of the country in 1830, entered 
the ports of the United States. 

In 1914 a division of Immigrant Education was established 
in the Bureau of Education with the following objects in 
view: 

To give the immigrant better opportunities and facilities 

to learn of America and to understand his duties to 

America. 
To unite in service for America the different factions 

among the several racial groups and to minimize in each 

race the antagonism due to old country conditions. 
To cement the friendships and discourage the enmities 

existing among races and to bring them together for 

America. 
To bring native and foreign J born Americans together 

in more friendly relations. 
To give native-born Americans a better understanding 

of foreign-4>orn Americans. 

222 



Appendix 

To develop among employers a greater personal interest 
in their foreign-born workmen and their families. 

To encourage the foreign-born Americans to assist in 
the work of Americanization and to develop a more 
patriotic feeling toward the day's work. 

To develop the school as the centre for Americanization 
work. 

This is the program for which the co-operation of the 
churches is asked by the Government. Many rectors will 
find in it merely a formulation of their own aim in their 
work among the foreign-born. There are others who would 
do well to ponder all or many of its clauses in a spirit of 
studious prayerfulness." 



223 



Appendix 

NOTE D 
(Page 39) 

Linguistic Classification of European Peoples 
Our Indo-European or Ay ran ancestors emerged from the 
mysterious table lands of Central Asia. The Hindo-Kush 
region has been suggested as their cradle-home. Some author- 
ities incline to the steppe lands north of the Caspian as its 
location. From western Ireland to Calcutta extends a net- 
work of language, having a common ancestor. The Sanskrit 
is the earliest remains of this primitive Aryan tongue, pre- 
serving most nearly the conditions of the parent speech. On 
this basis of language the peoples of Europe may be divided 
into the following groups: 
I. Greek. 
II. Albanian — two dialects, Tosk and Gheg. 
HI. Celtic — made up of Irish, Manx, Scotch, Gaelic, 

Welsh, Breton and Cornish. 
IV. Romantic (descendants of the old vulgar Latin), be- 
ing French, Provencal, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, 
Rumanian. 
V. Teutonic — comprising English (Anglo-Saxon), Ger- 
man, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and Ice- 
landic. 
VI. Letto — Lithuanian. 
VII. Slavonic — which falls into three divisions. 

(a) Eastern Slavs, being the Great Russians or 
Muscovites; the Little Russians comprising 
the Ruthenians; the White Russians of west 
central Russia. 

(b) Western Slavs, being the Czechs of Bohemia 
and Moravia; the Slovaks; the Poles; the 
Kashubes; and the Wends or Lusatian Serbs 
(Sorbs they call themselves). 

(c) Southern Slavs, being the Serbs; the Serbo- 
Croatians; the Slovenes, and the Bulgars who 
are Tartars by race. 

Non-Ayran languages represented in Europe are, Hebrew, 
Turk, Finn, Mlagyar, and Basque. 

224 



Appendix 

NOTE E 

(Page 50) 

In the administration of the Sacraments, the Orthodox 
Eastern Churches differ in certain particulars from the Angli- 
can and our own American use. Baptism is generally by three- 
fold immersion and, even in the case of infants, is immediately 
followed by annointing with consecrated oil which corresponds 
to Confirmation with us. In the Holy Communion, wafers are 
never used, but unleavened bread cut from the loaf; and the 
bread and wine are administered together, the bread being 
dipped in the wine and placed in the mouth of the communi- 
cant from a spoon, iln the Nicene Creed the Greek says of 
the Holy Ghost, "who proceedeth from the Father," not, 
as in the Western Church, "from the Father and the Son." 
The latter is known as the "Filioque clause," and was one 
of the factors causing the division between the Eastern and 
the Western Churches. 

The Eucharistic Office in the American Prayer Book, which 
bears the impress of the Scotch liturgy through the influence 
of Bishop Seabury, follows the Greek liturgy in the stress 
laid upon the invocation of the Holy Spirit in the Prayer 
of Consecration. The Greek liturgy is more gorgeous, more 
full of symbolism than ours. The lights and incense, the 
solemn procession, the holding aloft of the book of the 
Gospels, the gorgeous vestments resplendent with jewels, 
are all designed to teach religous truth. When the priest 
thrusts the altar-bread with the holy spear, the mind goes 
back to Him who was led as a sheep to the slaughter. When 
the star-cover is placed over the sacred Bread, we recall 
the star that came and stood over the place where the young 
Child was. The fanning of the elements symbolizes the 
breath of the Holy Spirit. The fervor of the saints is 
suggested by the warm water poured into the chalice. The 
Bishop's mantle with the bells attached, carries us back to 
the high priest's vesture in the ancient Jewish Church. But, 
on the whole, the striking thing about the Greek liturgy in 
comparison with ours, is the essential similarity rather than 
the difference in detail. The affiliations of the American 
Church are distinctly with the Eastern Orthodox. 

225 



Appendix 

NOTE F 

(Page 55) 

The following list will serve as a guide to the principal 
Greek churches in the United States: 

Atlanta, Ga. ; The Annunciation, 181 Central Avenue. 

Buffalo, N. Y.:The Annunciation, Oak Street. 

Boston, Mass.: The Annunciation, 46 Winchester Street. 

Brockton, Mass. : The Annunciation. 

Brooklyn, N. Y. : St. Constantine, Schermerhorn Street, 
near Court Street. 

Birmingham, Ala.: Holy Trinity, 301 South 19th Street. 

Baltimore, Md. : The Annunciation, Homewood Avenue. 

Canton, O. : St. Charalampas, 6th Street and Walnut Ave- 
nue, S. E. 

Cincinnati, O. : Holy Trinity, 124 East Third Street. 

Clinton, Mass.: St. Nicholas, School Street. 

Cleveland, O. : Holy Ghost, 1411 Kenilworth Avenue. 

Charleston, S. C. : Holy Trinity, St. Philip and Shepard 
Streets. 

Chicago, 111.: Holy Trinity, 1101 South Peoria Street; 
St. Constantine, 6100 Michigan Avenue; Annunciation, 
La Salle near Oak. 

Detroit, Mich.: The Annunciation, 80 Broadway. 

Denver, Colo. : Theotokos, 37th Avenue and Lafayette 
Street. 

Galveston, Tex.: Corner 43rd Street and Avenue "L." 

Haverhill, Mass.: Holy Apostles, 19 Walnut Street. 

Holyoke, Mass.: Holy Trinity, Main Street near Cabot 

Indianapolis, Ind. : Theotokos, 27^ South Meridian Street 

Ipswich, Mass.: St. Mary, Lafayette Road. 

Kansas City, Mo.: Annunciation, 501 East Fourth Street 

Lynn, Mass.: St. George, 20 Pleasant Street. 

Los Angeles, Cal. : 1216 Julian Street. 

Lowell, Mass.: Holy Trinity, Lewis & Jefferson Street! 

Lewiston, Mo.: Holy Trinity, Lincoln Street. 



Appendix 

Minneapolis, Minn.: Theotokos, 10th Avenue, corner Lake 

Street. 
Manchester, N. H. : St. George, Pine and Valley Streets; 

Annunciation, Vine and Spruce Streets. 
Moline, 111.: St. George. 

Milwaukee, Wis.: Annunciation, 664 Broadway. 
Nashua, N. H. : Annunciation, 50 Ash Street. 
Newark, N. J.: St. Nicholas, 149 Academy Street. 
Norfolk, Va. : Annunciation, Freemason and Cumberland 

Streets. 
New York, N. Y.: Holy Trinity, 151 East 72nd Street; 

Annunciation, 310 West 54th Street. 
New Orleans, La.: Holy Trinity, 1220 Dorgenois Street. 
Omaha, Neb.: St. John, 16th and Martha Streets. 
Pueblo, Colo.: St. John, Spruce, corner Summit Avenue. 
Portland, Ore.: Holy Trinity, East 17th and Taggart 

Streets. 
Providence, R. I.: Annunciation, 333 Smith Street. 
Peabody, Mass. : St. Basil, English Street. 
Philadelphia, Pa.: Annunciation, 745 South 12th Street. 
Pensacola, Fla. : Annunciation. 
Pittsburgh. Pa.: Annunciation, 97 Fullerton Street; St. 

Nicholas, 547 Sixth Avenue. 
Reading, Pa. : Constantine and Helena, Chestnut and 

Lemon Streets. 
Springfield, Mass.: St. George, 36 Auburn Street. 
Savannah, Ga. : St. Paul, Duffy and Barnard Streets 
Schenectady, N. Y. : St. George, 25 Clinton Street. 
Seattle, Wash. : St. Demetrius, Howard Avenue and Joh 

Street. 
Sheboygan, Wis. : St. Spiridion, 1431 South 10th Street. 
San Francisco, Calif.: Holy Trinity, Seventh Street. 
St. Louis, Mo., Holy Trinity, 1901 Morgan Street. 
Salt Lake City, Utah : Holy Trinity, 439 West 4th St., Sout 
Tarpon Springs, Fla. : St. Nicholas. 
Waterloo, la.: St. Demetrios, 512 Bluff Street. 
Washington, D. C. : St. Sophia, 619 Sixth Street, N. W. 
Wheeling, W. Va. : Apocalypsis. 



Appendix 

NOTE G 

(Page 61) 

In order to complete the irecord of Syrian immigration, 
mention should be made of certain groups, which, though in 
some cases they retain their Eastern rites, yet acknowledge 
the authority of the Pope and are in union with the Roman 
Church. To such Eastern communions is applied broadly 
the term "Uniat Churches." 

The Maronites 

The Maronites come to us from the Lebanon district of 
Syria, and derive their name from John Maron, a monk of 
the seventh century who abandoned the Orthodox Church, 
gained many followers, and, it is claimed, was the first 
Maronite Bishop. In 1182 the Maronites submitted to the 
Pope, although retaining many of their oriental rites and 
customs. The first Syrian immigrants of whom there is 
record were two brothers — (Maronites — who, in 1875, came to 
this country as silk brokers, an industry for which the Lebanon 
district is famous.. Today there are 17 Maronite churches 
in the United States, mostly in the East and all under the 
jurisdiction of the local Roman Bishops. Their liturgy has 
lost much of its oriental character and closely approximates 
the Roman Mass. They are therefore not strictly a Uniat 
Church. 

The Melchites 

The Melchites, though in full communion with Rome, retain 
unchanged their ancient Greek or Byzantine rites. They are 
therefore a strictly Uniat communion. Their liturgy differs 
in no way from that of the Orthodox Syrian Church. The 
language is the same, icons are in evidence, the Holy Com- 
munion is administered in both kinds and unleavened bread 
from the loaf is used, and some of their priests are married. 
They differ from the Orthodox in the acknowledgment of 

228 



Appendix 



the papacy, in the use of the Filioque clause in the Creed, 
and in the acceptance of certain distinctly Roman dogmas. 
There are less than 20 Melchite churches in the United States, 
all under the jurisdiction of the local Roman Bishops, though 
this Uniat Church has its own Patriarch who bears the title 
"Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem" and main- 
tains a residence in each of these cities. 

Chaldee Uniats and Catholic Syrians 

In a still different class are two other Roman Catholic 
Syrian communions — the "Chaldee Uniats" and the "Catholic 
Syrians." These represent the results of out-and-out Roman 
Catholic missionary efforts and are made up of converts from 
among the Nestorians on the one hand, and the Jacobites on 
the other. Both of these Churches are in full communion 
with Rome though allowed to retain their original rites ; each 
has its own Patriarch — the Chaldee Patriarch residing at 
Mosul (the ancient Nineveh), and the Catholic Syrian at 
Mardin in northern Mesopotamia. The Chaldee Uniats are 
not numerous in this country and play no part in American 
religious life. Of Catholic Syrians there are about 5,000 in 
scattered communities throughout the United States, some 
of whom may have been won over to various Protestant con- 
gregations. 



229 



Appendix 

NOTE H 

(Page 64) 

The official list of Syrian Orthodox priests under the juris- 
diction of Bishop Aftimus is as follows: 

Very Rev. Basil M. Kerbawy, 124 Pacific Street, Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 

Very Rev. Emmanuel Abo-Hatab, 673 St. Denis Street, 
Montreal, P. Q., Canada. 

Rev. Theo. Yanni, 1048 Catasuqua Ave., Allentown, Pa. 

Rev. M. C. Saba, 307 Chestnut Street, Johnstown, Pa. 

Rev. Job. Salloom, 622 Florence Street, N. E., Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

Rev. Solomon Boulos, 1104 Bedford Avenue, Pittsburgh, 
Pa. 

Rev. Solomon Merhige, 1226 Victoria Avenue, New Ken- 
sington, Pa. 

Rev. E. Hamati, 1111 Schoonmaker Avenue, Monessen, Pa. 

Rev. George Kattouf, 380 Kling Street, Akron, O. 

Rev. Joseph Kacere, 1709 South 9th Street, Cedar Rapids, 
Iowa. 

Rev. Solomon Ferneny, 17 Nassau Street, Boston, Mass. 

Rev. M. Abi-Hider, 17 Patton Street, Springfield, Mass. 

Rev. Phillipous Abo-Assally, 207 Ellsworth Ave., S. W., 
Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Rev. A. B. Farah, 1016 Holiday St., Michigan City, Ind. 

Rev. Sophronios Beshara, 45 Kearny Street, San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 

Rev. Simion Issa, 1096 Apartado, Mexico, D. F., Mexico. 

Rev. C. Doumany, 224 Brown St., Charleston, W. Va. 

Rev. Elias Freyjie, 710 Forsythe Street, Beaumont, Tex. 

Rev. Abraham Zaine, 269 Hunt Street, Central Falls, R. I. 

Rev. John B. Hakim, 1171 South 10th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Rev. Abdallah Khoury, 18 McCarreger Street, Wilkes- 
Barre, Pa. 

230 



Appendix 

Rev. Basil G. Mahfouz, 88 A. Lawrence Street, Boston, 
Mass. 
Rev. George D. Maloof, 32 Hudson St., Boston, Mass. 
Rev. Joseph M. Ghiz, 104 Norfolk Street, Worcester, Mass. 
Rev. Joseph Elia, 387 South Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 
Rev. George Mitchell, 51 Geneva Street, Geneva, N. Y. 
Rev. George J. Peters, 305 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



231 



Appendix 

NOTE I 

(Page 102) 

As an illustration of successful work among Italians in 
the congested districts of a large city, Grace Chapel, New 
York, may be cited. It began more than twenty years ago, 
with a Day Nursery; but presently the necessity arose for 
definite religious ministrations to the parents, who had drifted 
away from the Church of Rome. The work has prospered 
greatly. Up to the close of 1917, 816 persons had been 
confirmed or received. In one year, the total was 108, 
and of the 86 adults, 55 were men. Italian Services, held 
every Sunday in Grace Chapel, are attended by an average 
of over two hundred and fifty persons. Social and educa- 
tional work are Carried on among the Italians in a "Neigh- 
borhood House," at 98 Fourth Avenue, built for this purpose 
twelve years ago. The educational work includes instruction, 
by members of the staff, in American government and citizen- 
ship. Here, too, are received nearly 20,000 visits a year on 
the part of Italians seeking information and advice regarding 
their life in America. No less than 1800 Italians are con- 
nected with this mission on the religious side, and almost as 
many or more on civic, educational and social lines. Among 
other noticeable results is a very decided improvement in the 
moral tone of the whole neighborhood, as shown by the police- 
court records. The Annual Report of this work — / Rintocchi 
— is most stimulating reading, and is a good illustration of 
the successful friendly approach, and of the value of be- 
ginning with children. 

Of quite a different type, but no less promising, is the 
work carried on in the Diocese of Bethlehem, where the large 
Italian population is scattered and the work is necessarily 
less concentrated. At Easton, Trinity Parish attempts, with a 

232 



Appendix 



good measure of success, to assimilate the Italians with the 
life of the parish to an extent not so apparent elsewhere. 
Services, including a weekly celebration of the Holy Com- 
munion with an average atendance of sixty, are held in the 
Parish Church. The men have a club of fifty members; 
Italian children are welcomed in the Snuday School and in 
the Girls' Friendly Society. In the nearby village of Wind 
Gap a most prosperous work has been carried on for the 
past six years, the Italians themselves contributing generously 
to the support of the work. They form a settled colony, 
most of them owning their own homes. A Sunday School is 
conducted in English, to which also a few Hungarian and 
American children belong, and there are Services in Italian 
every Sunday. An Italian Chapel is about to be opened at 
West Bangor, not far from Wind Gap. Throughout the 
Diocese occasional Services are held ; a monthly paper in 
Italian is published which reaches several thousands of 
individuals in their homes ; and much social work is done 
in the way of supplying advice, assisting those who are in 
trouble or poverty, and in helping to secure employment. 

These two illustrations serve to indicate the main lines 
along which approach may be made in bringing to the Italians 
the ministrations of the American Church. 

A certain amount of literature is available for Church 
workers among Italians. The Prayer Book is, of course, ob- 
tainable in Italian translation. Besides this, the "Committee 
on Various Races," of the Province of New England, pro- 
vides a pamphlet containing the Order for the Holy Com- 
munion (in English and Italian), and (in Italian only) the 
Baptismal Office, Confirmation, Morning and Evening Prayer, 
the Litany and a few Psalms. The same Committee has also 
issued a useful tract, both in Italian and English, intended, 
not to disturb the settled, but merely to giude those who are 
adrift, and therefore to be used only with the utmost care 
and judgment. It is entitled Return to the Faith of your 
Forefathers, and is a plain and simple statement regarding the 
Catholic quality of the Anglican Communion, with illustra- 
tions. 

233 



Appendix 

There is wide divergence of opinion regarding the type 
of Service which most appeals to those Italians who have 
abandoned the Church of Rome and to whom, therefore, we 
can properly attempt to minister. The truth of the matter 
seems to be that the case is in no way different with Italians 
than with Americans. By some workers among Italians, the 
emphasis is laid upon the Protestant position of the Episcopal 
Church, and those who maintain this, report a successful 
appeal. Others stress the Catholic heritage of the Church, 
and report that this alone satisfies the Italian temperament. 
The matter can never be decided on a priori reasoning, nor 
will it prove wise to attempt to drive the Italian in either 
one direction or the other. He is led more easily. Given 
absolute sincerity and mutual understanding, the precise form 
in which the Italian is brought to express bis innate spirit 
of worship will largely shape itself. The reader who desires 
to see this matter from the standpoint of an exceptionally 
well-informed Italian, should consult Capozzi's Protestantism 
and the Latin Soul, pages 141 to 167. 



234 



Appendix 

NOTE J 

(Page 102) 

Established Italian Congregations 
{where the Italian language is used 
at some or all of the Services). 

New York, N. Y. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Morn- 

ingside Heights. 
San Salvatore, 359 Broome St., the Rev. 

Sisto Noce. 
Grace Chapel, 415 E. 13th St., the Rev. 

F. G. Urbano. 
St. Augustine's Chapel, 105 E. Houston 

St., the Rev. Sisto Noce. 
Chapel of the Incarnation, 240 E. 31st St., 

the Rev. E. M. H. Knapp. 
Calvary Chapel, 342 E. 23rd St., the Rev. 

Henry Chierra. 
St. Mark's Chapel, 10th St. and Ave. A., 

the Rev. Edward Gabler. 
St. Ambrose Mission, 236 E. 111th St., the 

Rev. A. Cincotti. 
All Saints' Church, Henry and Scammell 

Sts., the Rev. K. S. Guthrie. 
Church of the Holy Redeemer, Port Rich- 
mond, Staten Island, the Rev. Carmelo 

Di Sano. 
New Dorp Beach Chapel, Staten Island, 

the Rev. Carmelo Di Sano. 
St. Mary's Mission, 4628 White Plains 

Avenue, the Rev. Lorenzo Di Sano. 
Brooklyn, N.Y La Chiesa dell' Annunziata, 1412 67th St., 

the Rev. John Castelli. 

235 



Appendix 



Oyster Bay, N. Y. Christ Church. 

Utica, N. Y. Holy Cross Church, the Rev. Salvatore 

Zedda. 
Philadelphia, Pa. La Chiesa della L'Emmanuello, Christian 

(St., east of 11th, the Rev. T. E. Della 

Cioppa. 
Calvary Church, Mannheim St. and Pulaski 

Ave., the Rev. Franklin S. Moore. 
Italian Mission, St. George's Church, Rich- 
mond, the Rev. Silvio Biagini. 
Wind Gap, Pa. St. Mary's Church, the Rev. C. Capozzi. 
Hartford, Conn. Italian Mission of St. Paul, the Rev. Paolo 

Vasquez. 
Bridgeport, Conn. St. John Baptist, the Rev. Gennaro Staino. 
Boston, Mass. Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, the Rev. 

H, C. Sartorio. 
Chicago, 111. Church of St. John the Evangelist, Rees 

and Vine Sts., the Rev. Joseph Anastasi. 
Youmgstown, O. Church of San Rocco, the Rev. Oreste 

Salcini. 
Sary, Ind. Church of San Antonio, the Rev. Nicola 

Accomando. 



236 



Appendix 

NOTE K 

(Page 128) 

Scandinavian Episcopal Churches in the United States 

Boston, Mass., St. Ansgarius, Rev. A. W. Sundelof, Litt. D. 
Providence, R. I., St. Ansgarius, Rev. John E. Almfeldt. 
New York City, St. Bartholomew's Chapel, Rev. Eric G. 

Ericson. 
Yonkers, ,N. Y., St. Johannes, Rev. J. G. Hammarskold, D.D. 
Chicago, 111., St. Ansgarius, Rev. Carl A. Nybladh. 
Galesburg, 111., St. John's, Rev. C. O. Nybladh. 
Minneapolis, Minn., ,St. Ansgarius, Rev. Fritz L. Anderson; 

St. Johannes, Rev. P. Broburg; the Messiah, Rev. F. L. 

Anderson. 
St. Paul, Minn., St. Sigfrid's, Rev. P. Broburg. 
Cokato, Minn., St. Sigfrid's, Rev. W. E. Harmann. 
Litchfield, Minn., Emmanuel, Rev. W. E. Harmann. 
Eagle Bend, Minn., Emmanuel, Rev. Eric Forsberg. 
Duluth, Minn., St. Peter's, Rev. W. E. Harmann. 



237 



Appendix 

NOTE L 

(Page 152) 

The Russian people are divided into a number of geo- 
graphical groups, which divisions have a partial racial sig- 
nificance as well. 

By far the largest group are the "Great Russians" who 
occupy a broad strip of territory running north and south 
through the centre of European Russia, including Petrograd 
on the west, Moscow to the southeast, and Nizhni-Novgorod 
on the east. It extends south nearly to the Caucacus Moun- 
tains. Very few Great Russians are found among our im- 
migrants. 

The "Little Russians" occupy a smaller area in southwestern 
Russia, east of Austria-Hungary and north of the Black Sea. 
The majority of our Russian immigrants belong to this 
group Numbers of Little Russians are found to the west 
of the Carpathian Mountains in Austria-Hungary where they 
are called "Ruthenians," and are listed as such in our Govern- 
ment statistics of immigration. 

An ill-defined group of commingled Russians, Poles and 
Lithuanians, is known as "White Russians" and occupy the 
Province of West Russia, southeast of the Baltic Sea. As 
immigrants they are not distinguishable from the Little 
Russians. 

Mention is made in the text, of other Russian groups such 
as the Finns (including the Lapps), the Lithuanians, the 
Letts, etc. 

For further details regarding these groups the reader is 
referred to the Report published in 1913 by the Commission 
appointed by the Province of New England to consider co- 
operation with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This report 
may be obtained through the Educational Department, 281 
Fourth Avenue, New York. Price, 25c. postpaid. 



238 



Appendix 

NOTE M 

(Page 155) 

The Russian official list for 1918 reports these Serbian 
churches : 

Jackson, Cal., St. Savvas' Church. 

Chicago, 111., Holy Resurrection. 

Gary, Ind., St. Sawas' Church. 

Indiana Harbor, Ind., St. George's Church. 

Kansas City, Kan., St. George's Church. 

Detroit, Mich. 

Chisholm, Minn., St. Basil's Church. 

Butte, Mont., Holy Trinity Church. 

St. Louis, Mo., Holy Trinity Church. 

Omaha, Neb., St. Nicholas' Church. 

Barberton, O. 

Johnstown, Pa. 

McKeesport, Pa., St Sawas' Church. 

Steelton, Pa., St. Nicholas' Church. 

Wilmerding, Pa., St. Nicholas' Church. 

Youngwood, Pa., Holy Ascension Church. 

Mingo Junction, Pa., Holy Resurrection Church. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., St. George's Church. 

Milwaukee, Wis., St. Sawas' Church. 

To these should be added congregations in Cleveland, 
South Bethlehem, Pa., South Bend, Ind., and Salt Lake City, 
Utah. 



239 



Appendix 

NOTE N 

(Page 196) 

The so-called "Old Catholics" or "Christian Catholics," rep- 
resent a secession from the Church of Rome caused by the 
promulgation, in 1870, of the dogma of papal infallibility. 
A large number of prominent Roman Catholics, at first in 
Germany and later in other European countries, declined to 
accept the decree, and at a meeting held in Munich in Sep- 
tember, 1871, a resolution, among others, was passed looking 
toward definite relations with the Greek, Russian, Anglican 
and Protestant Communions. No fundamental change in 
doctrine was proposed, but merely a return to the ancient 
Catholic system of the diocesan episcopate as distinguished 
from the centralized authority of the Bishop of Rome. 

The most prominent Roman Catholic opponent of the 
Vatican decree of 1870, was undoubtedly Dr. J. J. von D61- 
linger, of Munich, one of the greatest theologians and scholars 
of his day (1790-1890). The Old Catholics would have 
elected Dollinger Bishop had he been willing to take the 
final and logical step after his excommunication. "As for 
myself," he wrote later, "I consider that I belong by con- 
viction to the Old Catholic community." 

The movement has attained no extraordinary degree of 
success; but, on the other hand, it has by no means shown 
signs of failure. It represents a determined protest against 
papal claims, while at the same time holding firm, in large 
measure, to Catholic faith and order. 



340 



INDEX 



Page 

Aelfhea 112 

Aftimius, Bp 64, 66 

Alaska 147, 149, 150 

Albanian Churches 153 

Alexander, Bp 54, 58, 59 

Alexander III 35 

Americanization 222 

Ansgarius 112 

Antioch ■ 59 

Arabic 60 

Aramaic 60 

Ararat, Mt 78 

Arbeely 60 

Armenians 76-82 

Arpad 200 

Aryans Ill 

Association, Anglican and Eastern Churches 56 

Assyrians 67 

Augsburg Confession 116 

Augustana Synod ■ 125 

Bach Festival 22 

Baradaeus, Jacob 71 

Beaufort, Cardinal 182 

Beirut 59 

Berlin, Congress of 141 

Bibliographies 215-219 

Bolsheviki • 137, 140, 144 

Bordante 94, 95 

Bohemia 162 

Bohler 167, 168 

Bourdon 163 

Bronx 119 

Bulgars 33, 34, 158-160 

California 79, 80 

241 



Index 

Page 

Catholicos 76 

Cattaro 156 

Cettinje 157 

Chalcedon 76 

Chalice 166, 182 

Chinese 205-208 

Classification of European Races 224 

Coal Mining 25, 26 

Coffee House 43 

Coll/ins, Bp 68, 69 

Comenius 168 

Conferences, Anglican and Greek 51 

Constance 165 

Convention, General 1, 58, 77, 148 

Convocation, Swedish 177 

Crescent 194 

Croatians 154 

Cross, Sign of . 78 

CyriL St 164 

Czechs 162-182 

Dalmatia 157 

Damascus 59 

Danilo 157 

Denmark 114 

Der-el-Zaf oran 72 

Dollinger 240 

Duma 145 

Eastern Churches 82, 83 

Eastern Church : 'Liturgical Uses 225 

Congregations in U. S. A .226, 227 

Education, Religious 8, 53, 118 

England, Church of 51, 112, 113, 119, 127, 183 

Epiphany Celebration 47 

Episcopal Succession 114, 116, 121 

Erik 114 

Etchmiadziin 76 

Eugene III 113 

242 



Index 

Page 

European Races, Classification of 224 

Exarchate, Bulgar 160 

Finns 120-122 

Freemasons 126 

Freethinkers 173 

French Immigrants 184 

German Immigration 186 

Germanos 51, 64 

Grace Chapel 232 

Grace Church (Chicago) 176, 177 

Greeks 33-50 

Greek Church 51-59, 226, 227 

Gregorian 76, 80 

Greenland 113 

Hadrian IV 114 

Hawaweeny, Raphael, Bp 63 

Hebrews 188, 189 

Heavenly Rest, Chapel of 177 

Henry, Bishop 114 

Hill, J. H 50 

Hodur, Bishop 197, 198 

Holy Synod 54 

Hungarians ■ 169, 199-203 

Hus 165 

Hymns 50, 166 

Iceland 113 

Ignatius, S 59 

Ikons 69 

Illiteracy 220 

Innocent, Abp 148 

Italians 86-108, 232-236 

Ivan the Great 135 

Jacobites 71-73 

Jagiello 194 

Japanese 208-210 

Jesuits 167 

Jews 140-145 

243 



Index 

Page 

Julian Calendar 47 

Juvenal 60 

Kadets 144 

Kossovo 154, 156 

Khorene 77 

Kiev 133, 134 

Kirkj ian 80 

Kossuth • 200, 201 

Kozlowski, Bp ' 196, 197 

Koorie, Hanna 73 

Kosciusko 195 

Lazzaro, San 81 

Lechfeld ■ 200 

Linkoping, Synod of 114 

Lithuanians 152, 194, 195 

Liturgy 66, 81, 153, 225 

Lutherans, American 125, 127 

Lutterworth, Village of 166 

Lycurgus, Archbishop 51 

Macedonia „ 159 

Magyars 199-203 

Maronites .61, 228 

Mar Shimun 68, 69 

Masaryk 171 

Mekhitarists 81 

Melchites .61, 228 

Mennonites 22 

Mataxakis, Metropolitan • 57 

Methodius, St 158, 164 

Mohacs 200 

Mongols 132, 133 

Monophysites 71 

Montenegrins 157 

Moravians 22, 165 

Moscow 135, 136, 137, 143, 148 

Nestorians • 67-70 

Norway 109, 112, 114 

Novgorod 133 

244 



Index 

Page 

Occidentalists 143, 144 

Old Catholics 240 

Olga 134 

Olaf 112, 113 

Ounalaska 147 

Paleologos , 135 

Papadopoulos 58 

Papazian • 80 

Peter the Great 136 

Peter's Pence 114 

Petri, Archbishop 115 

Phoenicians ■ 60 

Poland, Poles 33, 193-198 

Prayer Book in Foreign Languages 30, 106, 183-203 

Proselytism 54, 55, 66, 74, 83 

Protestant Episcopal 23, 167 

Pulaski 195 

•Religious Education 6, 8, 83, 101 

Richard II • 164 

Riga 136 

Rodostolos, Bishop of 54, 58, 59 

Roman Catholics 25, 49, 203, 228, 229, 234, 240 

Romanoff 136 

Ruggles, S. B - 148 

Rumanians 203-205 

Rurik 132, 133 

Russians 132-153, 238, 239 

Russo^Greek Committee 148, 149, 150 

Sabbas, St 155 

Sacraments, Eastern and American Uses • 225 

Samogitians 195 

Santa Sophia 134 

Scandinavians 109-131, 191, 237 

Seamen's Church Institute 129, 130 

Serbia 154-158, 239 

Shimmon, Paul • 67 

Sigfrid, St. 113 

Skotkonung 113 

245 



Index 

Page 

Slavonia 155 

Slovaks 162, 168, 173 

Sobieski 194 

Sokol 173 

Southgate, Rev. H 72 

San Stefano, Treaty of 159 

Sunday Schools 65, 176, 177, 181, 184 

Swedberg, Bp 119 

Sweden 109-118 

Switzerland 35 

Sylva, Carmen 203 

Synod, Holy 148 

Syrians 59-76, 228-231 

Syro-Arabs 60 

Thrall 147 

Thirty-nine Articles 116 

Tikhon, Archbishop 138 

Tiridates 76 

Tryggvason 112, 113 

Turks 77, 194 

Ukraine 134 

Uniats 203, 228, 229 

Union, Church 51, 55, 56, 66, 119 

Urumia 68 

Vasa, Gustavus 115 

Vladimir 133, 134 

Vesteras 115 

Vienna : Siege of 193 

Rolls 194 

Wenceslas 163 

Welsh 189, 190 

Wesley, John 168, 184 

Wycliffe 165, 166 

Yohannon 70 

Yonan 70 

Young, S. F 148, 149, 150 

Zemstvo 143, 144 

Ziska 166 

246 



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